Partizan downs CFBB to reach ANGT Finals for first time

U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade advanced to the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals for the first time after beating U18 CFBB Paris 79-67 to take first place at the ANGT Belgrade. Nikola Radovanovic led Partizan with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks while Dordije Jovanovic had 10 points and 8 rebounds and Ousainou Sarr 10 points. By taking first place in the Serbian capital, Partizan joins U18 Herbalife Gran Canaria, U18 Real Madrid and U18 Rytas Vilnius as the four direct qualifiers for the ANGT Finals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in May in Cologne, Germany. CFBB, which won the continental title in 2010 and 2017, was paced by Daniel Batcho with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks and Rudy Demahis tallied 13 points in the loss.

The game was tight early with neither side able to get much rhythm offensively. Batcho was a difference-maker with 4 rebounds - 3 of them on the offensive glass - in scoring 9 points, including a three-point play for a 10-13 lead. Sarr came off the Partizan bench and was a big factor with a fastbreak basket and another score in helping Partizan push ahead 19-13 and it was 19-14 after 10 minutes. CFBB knotted the game with the first 5 points of the second quarter only to see the Partizan reserves come up with 6 straight points for a 25-19 lead. Stefan Todorovic and Mihailo Petrovic both added a triple in a 10-1 spurt and the margin was up to 35-23. Lazar Stefanovic also hit from downtown and Partizan led 40-28 at the break. Batcho opened the scoring in the second half, but Partizan pushed ahead 47-32 as Stefanovic was again on target from the outside. Partizan was able to keep CFBB at an arm’s length as Todorovic hit another triple and Radovanovic had two scores for a 54-39 advantage. Demahis made sure things would be interesting in the final 10 minutes as he buried 3 three-pointers in the final 3 minutes of the third quarter to make it 59-53. Dieng started the fourth quarter with a three to cut it to 59-56. Partizan responded with an 8-0 run topped by Dordije Jovanovic’s four-point play and a 67-56 lead with under 7 minutes to play. CFBB was able to use its athleticism advantage with Yohan Traore and Armel Traore both throwing down big dunks in cutting the deficit to 67-64. Petar Zivojinovic came up with a big three-point play and Radovanovic converted a tough layup and 2 free throws for a 77-67 margin with 27 seconds to play to secure the victory.