Krka ends Red Star’s Adriatic win streak at 20
The historic winning streak of Crvena Zvezda “Red Star” Telekom Beograd in the Adriatic league has finally ended at 20 wins! They fell on the road to Slovenian club Krka Novo Mesto, 77-67. With the loss, the dream of a perfect regular season record is over for Red Star. Nonetheless, the Serbian franchise has set an ABA league record that will be tough to beat. For now, at 20-1, they still sit comfortably in the league’s top spot, four full games ahead of second-place team KK Buducnost (16-5). Krka’s win takes them to 11-10 and they move up the rankings to take fifth place.
The game itself had an exciting atmosphere as the home team’s fans cheered them on with the hopes of accomplishing what no club had yet achieved this season in the ABA and that was to upset Crvena Zvezda. Krka looked sharp from the get-go as they played aggressively in the first quarter to establish a 25-13 lead. Crvena Zvezda was undaunted by this as they had come back when faced with similar situations in the past. Slowly, using their solid teamwork, the men in Red and White chipped away at the lead in the second and third periods. By the end of the first half Red Star culled it to single digits and were trailing 41-32.
Krka played only seven players during the game and their starters were made to log heavy minutes. A key factor for Krka in their win, was their excellent ball movement. This was a rare instance when Red Star’s opponent was able to pile on more assists than them in the contest. Krka dished out a total of 20 assists compared to Crvena Zvezda’s 15.
In the third period, Crvena Zvezda was able to cut the lead further into a manageable five-point gap. The game boiled down to the action that took place in the fourth and final quarter. Led by Jasmin Hukic and Christopher Booker, Krka was able to keep up enough offensive intensity to keep Red Star at bay and further extend their advantage once again to 10 points, outscoring their guests 20-15 in the final frame.
Jasmin was just one rebound shy of a double-double, ending the night with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Both Christopher Booker and Malcolm Almstead added 18 points each for Krka. Red Star’s top scorer was Charles Jenkins who finished with 13 points. Marcus Williams added 12 points and seven assists.
The loss itself does not affect Crvena Zvezda’s chances to enter the postseason as they are already qualified. Now they must look to tighten up loose ends in their game and focus on the ultimate prize, the league championship.