In the opening game of the Belgrade NIJT Qualifying Tournament, the host Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade raced past the city rival Zemun 85-52. Led by Vojislav Stojanovic, Zvezda first used an 11-2 run, then a 10-1 spurt to finish the first quarter up 25-12, before building 50-26 halftime lead. The hosts cruised to victory in the second half as Stojanovic finished with 21 points and 5 rebounds in less than 20 minutes on the floor. Bratislav Jekovic scored all 17 of his points in the third quarter, while Lazarevic had 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in victory. Jovan Starincevic finished with 20 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds for Zemun.

Stojanovic scored 9 straight points, including a dunk and a triple for 11-5 lead. Slobodan Jovanovic and Teodor Atanasov got Zemun going, and a second chance basket from Nikola Cirkovic cut it to 15-11. However, Danilo Ostojic sparked, and Nikola Rakicevic fueled another Zvezda charge, a 16-2 run bridging first and second quarters for 31-13. Zvezda defense did not allow a field goal for 9 minutes, and after Starincevic snapped Zemun’s drought, Ostojic hit once, and Stojanovic twice from downtown, helping Zvezda to 50-26 halftime lead. After the break, Jekovic hit 4 of 4 behind the arc, and added a basket-plus-foul, extending it to 73-35 after three quarters. Triples from Nemanja Dorovic and Marko Stajkovski pushed the margin to 81-37 before Starincevic helped cut the gap in the closing minutes.