Red Star takes most recent Eternal Derby – 78:92

The basketball landscape is littered with fierce rivalries that cover the globe, but few date back to the 1940s and few have evolved to the point where the visiting team has had their ticket allocation for the games limited due to the proliferation of clashes between sides. In the case of the basketball version of the Eternal Derby, which involves the Serbian athletic clubs Partizan mt:s Belgrade and Red Star Belgrade, making matters worse is that fact that they share a home arena, the 7,800 seat Pionir Hall. The squads are local and regional favorites and have a rabid following, making every edition of the Eternal Derby an experience for the fans and the teams alike.

In the history of the basketball Derby, also known as the Belgrade Derby, Partizan mt:s holds the series advantage, 123 wins to Red Star’s 86 wins. Surprisingly, five contests over the years have ended in a draw. Prior to yesterdays edition, which was a scheduled regular season contest in the Adriatic League, Partizan had won 18 of the last 20 matches between the two clubs, dating back to February 2, 2009. The only two wins the Red Star had in the that time was game two of the 2012 Serbian Superleague playoffs when they won 68:56 and prior to that was three years earlier when they won the first of two match ups in the 2009-10 NLB (the precursor to the Adriatic League), 73:76.

Sunday’s game was a Partizan home contest and as the weekend began, they were at the top of the standings, tied with Igokea, at 6-1. Despite the fact that many feel that Partizan is down in talent this year and that Red Star’s off-season moves (10 of 15 players are new to their roster this season) have made them a much better squad, the intensity of the rivalry, and having this be a Partizan home contest still made the black and white a slight favorite to pick up their 124th win in the series.

Seven minutes into the first quarter the clubs had worked to a score knotted at 12. Over the next couple of minutes the red and white went on a 4:14 scoring run that put them out in front 16:26 with a minute left in the quarter. Partizan closed out the first 10 with a six point run of their own to close the gap, but at the buzzer the board had the visitors up 22:28.

The second quarter saw Red Star bolt out to another scoring drive, this time tacking on 14 while Partizan could only manage to connect on a single jumper. After the first four minutes of the quarter the red and black had extended their margin to 18, 24:42. The clubs settled in and played the rest of the quarter evenly, with Partizan getting four back to head into the locker room with a 14-point deficit, 39:53.

When the second half got underway the hosts drew first blood, cutting the margin to 12, 41:53, but then a long series of missed shots, turnovers and fouls occurred culminating in a hard offensive foul called on Katic Rasko on Gagic Đorde which sent Dorde tumbling out of play. When the two went back down the court, the officials called a double foul on both big men for excessive contact, drawing two technicals and ejection for Rasko. As that was being sorted out, the officials also called a double technical on both benches. Adding up the damages resulted in the ejection of a red-and-white post man, four Partizan free throws and Partizan then got the ball back out of bounds. Lucic Vladimir hit two of the four singles and Dorde picked up his fourth foul for pushing while posting up when they brought the ball back in. Connecting on only two of the potential points in the exchange for Partizan was just how their night was going. By the end of the third frame Red Star had a 19-point advantage, 53:72.

In the fourth the home squad was only able to cut the deficit down to nine, but any time they threatened further, the red and black countered and extended the lead. As the final buzzer sounded the ABA leaders had fallen to 6-2 and the Red Star had picked up their 87th Eternal Derby win in 215 attempts. They also improved their ABA league record to 4-4 and with their score differential they sit on top of a pack of seven clubs sporting the same win-loss record.

Top Scorers:
Red Star: DeMarcus Nelson: 20; Elton Brown 15; Boris Savovic 14; Mike Scott 13; Igor Rakocevic 10.
Partizan: Davis Bertains 23; Leo Westermann 12; Vladimir Lucic 11; Dragan Milosavijevic 10.