Big run carries Partizan to comeback win over Maccabi

U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade came back from a 15-point deficit and eased past U18 Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv 81-60 to start its Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade. Partizan gained control of the Group A game with a 21-0 third quarter run with it expanding to 36-2 spanning the final two quarters. Mihailo Petrovic scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half for Partizan while Stefan Todorovic collected 21 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, Nikola Radovanovic tallied 19 points and Petar Zivojinovic chipped in 4 points and 12 rebounds. Maccabi, which shot 33.8 percent from the field and committed 22 turnovers, was paced by Harel Rinski with 16 points and Amit Aharoni had 11 points and 7 assists.

Michael Eliaszedeh converted a three-point play and Rinski knocked down a triple as Maccabi was up 3-6. Partizan answered with a 7-2 run over nearly 5 minutes and was up 10-8 until Yuval Levin drained a triple and Maccabi led 13-15 after 10 minutes. Todorovic opened the second quarter with three free throws and added a basket and Partizan was up 18-15. After Maccabi did not score the first 2 minutes of the quarter, Rinski nailed two three-pointers and Niv Avidan also hit from long range in a 0-11 surge over nearly 5 minutes for an 18-26 lead. Rinksi added another triple as the advantage grew to 20-33. Todorovic did drain a three-pointer late in the first half as Partizan trailed 25-35 at the break. Rinski had four points and Aharoni hit from long range as Maccabi’s cushion grew to 31-46. Partizan got right back into the game and grabbed the lead with a 21-0 surge as Petrovic scored 13 points including 3 three-balls for a 52-46 lead. Radovanovic chipped in a three-point play as the Serbian side scored the final seven points of the quarter and led 59-48 after 30 minutes. And Todorovic had two and-ones in an 8-0 start to the fourth quarter for a 67-48 lead. Maccabi did manage to score the next six points to make it 67-53, but Dordije Jovanovic hit a triple and Maccabi did not get closer than 15 points the rest of the way.