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Serbian League finals, Game 4: June 24, 2007 |
Partizan Belgrade won its sixth consecutive Serbian-League crown on Sunday after beating rival Crvena Zvezda 67-84 in Game 4 of the teams' best-of-five finals series. The victory marks Partizan's 14th domestic championship dating back to the days of the old Yugoslavian League. Veteran big man Predrag Drobnjak was the hero after sealing the victory with a crucial three-pointer with 4 minutes to go. He finished as Partizan's top scorer with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Kosta Perovic added 12 points and 9 rebounds, Vonteego Cummings 11 and Milenko Tepic 10. C. Zvezda got 20 from Milan Gurovic, while Tadija Dragicevic scored 13 and Nemanja Aleksandrov finished the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The atmosphere was electric at the sold-out Pionir Arena as both teams opened the game with aggressive defense. C. Zvezda big men Nenad Misanovic and Petar Popovic ultimately payed the price with 3 fouls each in a low-scoring first period. Crvena Zvezda led early, but Nikola Pekovic and Drobnjak gave Partizan a 16-17 advantage after 10 minutes. The second period began with Partizan on a 0-9 run and the lead was soon in double-digits at 19-29. Aleksandrov helped C. Zvezda to get back in the game with 7 straight points – a pair of triples and a free throw – but Milenko Tepic fired a bomb on the other side and the score after 20 minutes was 36-44. Partizan dominated the paint as C. Zvezda committed too many turnovers. That was the reason for the visitors' 3-17 run in third period, as the cushion grew to 48-63. Crvena Zvezda managed to answer with 11-2 run, but it was all that hosts were able to do. Though it seemed that Partizan was in complete control, Gurovic scored 2 from the line with 6 minutes to go to make it 61-69, proving that C. Zvezda was still alive. However Drobnjak scored 7 straight points, including the bomb in the last 1:36 as Partizan fans started to celebrate the title.
SERBIAN LEAGUE: Final Playoffs, best of 5 games |
| Record | Team | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | 3 | Partizan (1) | 91 | 100 | 77 | 84 | x | 1 | Crvena Cvezda (4) | 89 | 83 | 91 | 67 | x | Serbian League Champion 2006-07: Partizan Belgrade |
Final Playoffs Games | | Game 1 | Partizan vs. Crvena Cvezda | 91-89 | June 17 | | Game 2 | Crvena Cvezda vs. Partizan | 83-100 | June 19 | | Game 3 | Partizan vs. Crvena Cvezda | 77-91 | June 22 | | Game 4 | Crvena Cvezda vs. Partizan | 67-84 | June 24 |
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Sunday, June 24, 2007
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Aca Ostojic, Beograd |
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