May 22, 2013
Regular Season Game 3 - November 05, 2008 CET: 20:45 Local time: 20:45 - PIONIR
Partizan 81 - 76 AJ Milano

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
1-1 Regular Season 0-2
1-1 Overall 0-2

Referees

Crew Chief
ZIEMBLICKI, GRZEGORZ, Poland
Referee
CONDE, ANTONIO, Spain
Umpire
KOROMILAS, ELIAS, Greece

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
70.5 Points 67.5
37.0 Rebounds 27.5
17.5 O. Rebounds 12.0
19.5 D. Rebounds 15.5
12.0 Assists 7.5
5.0 Steals 7.0
5.5 Blocks 0.5
14.0 Turnovers 14.5
51.4 % 2PT 46.3 %
28.9 % 3PT 29.8 %
70.3 % FT 86.4 %
71.0 Index 45.0
Team Stats - Partizan
Team Stats - AJ Milano

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
14.5 / VELICKOVIC, NOVICA Points 15.5 / Hawkins
9.0 / Lasme Rebounds 4.5 / Hawkins
4.5 / Lasme OR 2.5 / HALL, MICHAEL
4.5 / Lasme DR 3.5 / Hawkins
3.0 / Tepic Assists 1.5 / HALL, MICHAEL
2.0 / Lasme Steals 2.0 / THOMAS, JOBEY
2.5 / Lasme Blocks 0.5 / ROCCA, MASON
3.5 / VELICKOVIC, NOVICA Turnovers 3.5 / SANGARE, YOHANN
66.7 % / TRIPKOVIC, UROS 2PT 100.0 % / SANGARE, YOHANN
50.0 % / S. Milosevic 3PT 66.7 % / MORDENTE, MARCO
100.0 % / TRIPKOVIC, UROS FT 100.0 % / THOMAS, JOBEY
20.5 / Lasme Index 14.5 / Hawkins
Team Roster - Partizan
Team Roster - AJ Milano

THE TAKE

Partizan Belgrade will look to build on last week’s impressive win when it hosts Armani Jeans Milano at the Pionir Arena in the Serbian capital. A win for the hosts could go a long way towards establishing the paths these teams are on as the race for tickets to the Top 16 from Group D starts to take shape. Partizan has impressed this season, losing by a single point at Efes Pilsen in Week 1 and stunning Real Madrid last week. Head coach Dusko Vujosevic’s men have produced at both ends of the floor, with newcomer Stephane Lasme and giant center Slavko Vranes doing the dirty work in the paint, Aleksandar Rasic and Milenko Tepic outside and forward Novica Velickovic helping out everywhere. Meanwhile Milano has started the season with back-to-back losses, first at defending champion CSKA at last week at home against Efes. With another tough road game at Madrid next week, head coach Piero Bucchi’s charges must earn a tough road win to avoid a 0-4 start and will try to accomplish that goal in Belgrade. Making matters even more difficult is the team’s injury list, which includes three of the club’s most important players. Big man Pape Sow is out with a foot problem, while guard Massimo Bulleri and Luca Vitali have recovered from their respective injuries, but are not yet in gameshape. Accordingly, Milano will turn to swingmen David Hawkins, Marco Mordente and Jobey Thomas, who have carried the team’s offense in recent weeks, while looking to playmaker Yohann Sangare, forward Mike Hall and big man Mason Rocca to raise their production. Sangare particularly will need to get the attack in order, as Milano’s 15 assists this season are tied for the fewest in the Euroleague. The visitors’ lack of size makes the battle inside against the 2.29-meter Vranes as well as active rebounders Lasme, Velickovic and Zarko Rakocevic a crucial one for Milano. Partizan leads the league with 17.5 offensive rebounds per game. Hall’s athleticism and all-around skills could be crucial against Partizan’s forward tandem, but Rocca and Joey Beard must also help out. Aside from Mordente, Milano is shooting just 21.1% from beyond the arc, but if traditionally strong marksmen like Thomas, Sangare or Hall heat up, Milano does have the potential ring up an important win on the road. Nevertheless, Partizan showed last week, as well as last season when the club went 8-3 at home, that it is always favored at Pionir Arena.

GAME QUOTES

Partizan
  • Partizan and Milano will meet for the first time since the 1992 Euroleague Final Four. Partizan, led by a young Predrag Danilovic and Sasha Djordjevic bested a Milan squad with Daryl Dawkins and Johnny Rogers 82-75 in the semifinals en route to the club’s only Euroleague title.
  • Center Slavko Vranes blocked 4 shots in last week’s home win over Real Madrid, giving him 45 for his career and drawing the 2.29-meter man within striking distance of 50. He will become one of only 10 players in Euroleague Basketball history to appear in at least 40 games and average more than one block per game. Vranes ranks second on the all-time list in blocks per minute with 0.10 per minute.
  • Partizan is one of only three teams to have two players in the top 20 in rebounding this season. Stephane Lasme’s 9 rebounds per game tie him for third in the Euroleague, while Novica Velickovic is tied for 12th with 7 per game. Those two are ranked among the top six offensive rebounders this season with 4.5 for Lasme and 4 for Velickovic.
Armani Jeans Milano
  • Guard David Hawkins has posted impressive individual numbers in four career performances against Partizan. He has scored in double figures in all four games and averaged 12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.3 steals. He has recorded a career-high 6 steals twice and has his only career multi-blocked shot game (2) against the club.
  • Armani Jeans is shooting 86.4% from the free-throw line through two games this season. No team has ever shot above 83% from the line in a Euroleague Basketball season.
  • If Luca Vitali plays this week, he will have seen action with three different teams in his first five Euroleague game. Vitaly played two games for Virtus Bologna in the 2002-03 season and two more with Montepaschi in the 2003-04 season.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

VUJOSEVIC, DUSKO
Partizan
"There are no weak teams in the Euroleague. In that competition there are strong and extremely strong teams. All those who were thinking that Partizan is weak were wrong. But the fact is that we are the same team as we were before we beat Real Madrid last week. That means each win is a deed to us. If we want to reach the Top 16, and we all want it, it is a must to beat Armani at home. That is real but only if we played with maximum concentration and like a team. Of course with the help from our fans."
BUCCHI, PIERO
AJ Milano
"This will be a complicated game for us, for sure, because they have a great support at home. This is not an easy time in the season for us, but we are still ready to fight for victories and that will not change in Belgrade."

Players

TRIPKOVIC, UROS
Partizan
"After we beat Real Madrid it the environment takes for granted that beating AJ Milano will be a normal thing. But Armani is not coming to Belgrade for a picnic. It is an extremely strong team and we must play our best defense to reach the chance to win. I am sure we can do that."
ROCCA, MASON
AJ Milano
"We're going to play in a historic arena against a very good, young and talented team. There is always a very hot crowd at Pionir, in a nation where basketball is very important. I've already played there when I was with Napoli and I know what I’m saying, even if I played against Red Star at the time. We're coming off five defeats in a row [in the Italian League and Euroleague], but we really want to start a good streak of victories, and I think we are close to doing it. We want to start in Belgrade our comeback in the competition and in the standings. We are ready to fight this Wednesday to take this important victory."
Stephane Lasme - Partizan Partizan Belgrade battled back from a 23-point deficit to beat Armani Jeans Milano 81-76 for its second straight win at a sold-out Pionir Arena in the Serbian capital. Novica Velickovic led six Partizan scorers in double figures with 14 points as hard work and the team concept lifted head coach Dusko Vujosevic’s men. Jobey Thomas was brilliant for Armani Jeans with 27 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting, but it would not be enough as Milano slipped to 0-3 in Group D. And it won’t get much easier with a trip to Real Madrid on tap next week. The visitors dominated early, using a 2-12 first-period charge and a 3-12 second-period run to build a stunning 22-45 lead. Zarko Rakocevic helped Partizan cut the deficit to 38-55 by halftime. The hosts mounted their comeback in the third period as Stephane Lasme and Velickovic worked hard at both ends of the floor. Lasme gave Partizan its first lead since the opening minutes early in the fourth quarter. Milano seemed to run out of strength down the stretch, while Partizan looked fresh and big plays by Tepic and Velickovic gave the hosts an important and hard-fought win. Lasme recorded a double double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Aleksandar Rasic scored 12 and dished 7 assists, while Milenko Tepic scored 11 and dished 8 assists. Cedomir Vitkovac also scored 11 points and Rakocevic finished with 10 for the winners. David Hawkins added 14 points and 4 steals and Joey Beard netted 10 points for Milano.

Rasic opened the scoring with a bomb and after Joey Beard got the visitors on the scoreboard, Novica Velickovic added a second triple. Hawkins answered from behind the arc for Milano and soon Yohann Sangare added layup to give Armani Jeans a 6-7 lead. Partizan answered with 5 straight points from Vitkovac. The hosts then switched to a zone defense with big Slavko Vranes in the paint only to see Thomas lead Armani Jeans on a 0-7 run, which gave his team an 11-16 lead. Milano surprised the hosts with their transition game and high intensity defense. Hawkins controlled his team’s attack and Thomas fired in long-distance shots and fast break baskets as Milano built a double digit lead after just eight minutes. Thomas scored one more triple as the first period buzzer sounded, concluding a 2-12 run and giving his team a 15-28 lead.

Jobey Thomas - AJ Milano Thomas opened second period with another bomb as the gap reached 16 points. Marco Mordente joined with a three-pointer and when Hawkins scored twice from the line, Milano led 19-38 midway through the second period. And the margin would grow to 23 after a Mike Hall triple ended a 3-12 run that made it 22-45. Partizan was forced to call timeout and the result was triple from Tepic. Partizan missed 4 consecutive shots from the line, but thanks to offensive rebounds, Rakocevic dunked as Thomas committed his third foul. Rakocevic added a three-point play, but after Armani Jeans stole the ball, the first half ended with 38-55 Milano lead.

Partizan scored 5 straight points at the beginning of the third period as the Milano players let up a bit on defense due to foul trouble. The visitors went scoreless for almost four minutes as Partizan slowly cut into the deficit. Finally Beard scored, but Rasic answered with triple cutting the gap to 11. Rasic added a basket on a fast break and the score was 50-59. He led Partizan on a 9-2 run, which ended with three-pointer from Petar Bozic that made it 55-61. Lasme showed power by blocking Hall on defense and slamming one home on offense. Armani Jeans was losing its force as the hosts got within 61-64. Uros Tripkovic tied the game with a triple, but Hall struck with his own bomb as Milano led 66-67 at the end of third period.

After Lasme and Vranes together blocked Beard, Lasme scored to give the hosts their first lead since the opening minutes. Mordente tied from long distance but missed. Thomas scored a bomb from second chance offense, but on the other side Lasme forced Beard into his fifth personal just three minutes into the fourth quarter. Mindaugas Katelynas added a triple for Armani Jeans as the guests reestablished a 5-point lead. Both teams concentrated on defense and baskets were rare at both ends. With four minutes to go, Velickovic scored a bomb and tied it at 73-73. He added a steal and assist to Vitkovac, who gave Partizan a 2-point lead. Velickovic added a fastbreak layup that forced Milano’s bench to call timeout after a 9-0 run. With offensive rebounds, Partizan was keeping the lead, aided by its fans who fired up the arena. Hawkins took the responsibility with three-point play, but Tepic answered from the line and the score was 79 -76 at the beginning of final minute of the game. Bozic picked up a key steal in defense and Velickovic converted 2 from the line as Partizan earned its second straight Euroleague win.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Aca Ostojic, Belgrade
Referees: ZIEMBLICKI, GRZEGORZ (POL), CONDE, ANTONIO (ESP), KOROMILAS, ELIAS (GRE)
Attendance: 6253
By Quarter1234
Partizan15232815
AJ Milano2827129
End of Quarter1234
Partizan15386681
AJ Milano28556776
Head coach: VUJOSEVIC, DUSKO
Partizan
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 TEPIC, MILENKO 34:41 11   3/8 2/4   6 6 8 2 1     2 2 19
8 MILOSEVIC, STRAHINJA 4:07                              
10 RASIC, ALEKSANDAR 24:54 12 1/2 2/4 4/4       7   3   1   2 14
11 TRIPKOVIC, UROS 19:00 6 0/1 2/9     1 1 1   2     3   -5
12 VELICKOVIC, NOVICA 29:14 14 2/6 2/4 4/6 3 1 4 2 1   1   1 5 18
13 LASME, STEPHANE 30:54 12 6/9     6 4 10   1 1 3   3 5 24
14 ALEKSIC, VUKASIN 1:58   0/1 0/1             1     1   -4
15 VITKOVAC, CEDOMIR 23:30 11 4/4 0/4 3/3 2   2 1 2 1 1   5 4 11
20 BOZIC, PETAR 13:14 3   1/2   1 2 3   1       2 1 5
22 RAKOCEVIC, ZARKO 14:31 10 3/4   4/6 3 1 4 1   1   1 3 4 11
24 VESELY, JAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
33 VRANES, SLAVKO 3:57 2 1/2     1 1 2     1     1   1
Team           3   3   1           4
Totals 200:00 81 17/29 10/32 17/23 19 16 35 20 8 11 5 2 21 23 98
58.6% 31.3% 73.9%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: BUCCHI, PIERO
AJ Milano
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
6 FILLOY, ARIEL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 HALL, MIKE 34:28 8 0/2 2/3 2/2   5 5 3 2 3   1 2 1 10
9 MORDENTE, MARCO 32:45 7 2/2 1/3         1 1 2     4 6 7
11 THOMAS, JOBEY 31:57 27 4/5 5/6 4/4   2 2 3         4 3 29
15 KATELYNAS, MINDAUGAS 20:28 6 0/3 1/1 3/4 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 3 5 3 2
16 MICEVIC, MARKO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
18 MERCANTE, JACOPO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 BEARD, JOEY 26:36 10 4/5   2/2 1 2 3   1 1     5 3 10
20 SANGARE, YOHANN 18:25 4 2/3 0/1     3 3     3         2
34 HAWKINS, DAVID 35:21 14 3/8 1/4 5/5 1 1 2 4 2 1   1 3 5 14
Team                     1         -1
Totals 200:00 76 15/28 10/18 16/17 3 14 17 12 7 12 2 5 23 21 73
53.6% 55.6% 94.1%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

VUJOSEVIC, DUSKO
Partizan
"A lot of people were thinking before this game that Partizan should get an easy win. That is the worst thing that could happen to my players. I was angry with my players because of their bad defense and that's what I told them at halftime. In the end, Partizan is a sort of experimental team. We are playing without a classic center. Our fans, as usual, were fantastic. I can say that being a magician is a very tough job."
BUCCHI, PIERO
AJ Milano
"I am very upset and angry because we played well and were really close to getting a road win. We lost because our lack of offensive rebounding and our many turnovers. I regret that we did not show a stronger character. It is amazing to play in front of fans like the ones Partizan has."

Players

VELICKOVIC, NOVICA
Partizan
"We didn't have a good start in this game and soon we understood that there are no weak teams in the Euroleague. AJ Milano were shooting really well and we missed a lot of shots early in the game, but we played much better in the second half. We powered the offensive boards really well and that gave us a lot of second-chance opportunities. This is a really big win that means a lot for us."
LASME, STEPHANE
Partizan
"Defense was the key. We really played bad defense in the first half, but it was our main weapon after the game. I am so impressed by our fans. They were fantastic tonight."
THOMAS, JOBEY
AJ Milano
"This was an incredible basketball atmosphere. I have never seen in my entire life a team losing by more than 20 points and getting such support from its fans. Partizan's fans helped their team to return to the game. Their offensive rebounds were the key, but the fans were their most explosive weapon."
No pictures yet
There is no video yet
Serbia: RTS
Hungary: SPORTKLUB (Delayed)
Italy: SKY SPORT 2
Romania: SPORTKLUB (Delayed)
Macedonia, F.Y.R. Of: A1
Croatia: SPORTKLUB (Delayed)
Montenegro: TV IN
Serbia: SPORTKLUB (Delayed)
Bosnia - Herzegovina: BHT 1 (Delayed)
Internet: EUROLEAGUE.TV
Greece: NOVASPORTS 3 (Delayed)