Crvena Zvezda was losing by 21 but finally celebrated against ASVEL Villeurbanne with a score of 83:80 in Round 18 of the EuroLeague.
Unfortunately, even though Zvezda won, they lost Marko Jagodić-Kuridža due to injury. It is still unknown how serious the injury is.
Vladimir Štimac exploded after his return to Zvezda from Fenerbahce, and led his team with 21 points against the French squad.
After the first half, when the home team was leading by 19 (49:30), it looked like the second part of the game would be a routine for ASVEL. But, the Serbians had other plans. The team from Belgrade had an excellent third quarter and completely returned to the match.
Kevin Punter of Crvena Zvezda scored a three-point shot at only second before the end of the match and set the final score after the drama he created. With 15 seconds to go, Punter lost the ball and David Lighty scored for the 80:80, but Zvezda didn’t back down. The effort of the guests’ players paid off and now the team from Serbia has four wins in a row.
As it was already mentioned, Vladimir Štimac was the best scorer with 21 points. Kevin Punter added 18 and Lorenzo Brown scored 13.
For ASVEL, Adreian Payne scored 17 points with 8 rebounds (index rating of 26). Rihards Lomazs ended the match with 14, Theo Maledon with 13 and David Lighty with 11 points.
