Veterans Bjelica and Simonovic give Zvezda thrilling road win

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade claimed a heart-stopping 78-79 victory over Brose Bamberg in a thrilling Game of the Week. In a pulsating atmosphere at Brose Arena, Zvezda thrilled the large contingent of travelling fans when Charles Jenkins hit the go-ahead basket with 24 seconds remaining, and Darius Miller couldn’t convert Bamberg’s last-second chance to win. Zvezda improved to 3-4 with the win, while dropping the German champs to 2-5. Veterans Milko Bjelica and Marko Simonovic were the stand-out performers, scoring 18 and 17 points respectively for the winners, while Stefan Jovic provided 12 points and 5 assists. Marko Guduric added 11 points and Jenkins 10. Nicolo Melli paced Bamberg with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, Nikos Zisis recorded 11 points and 9 assists, Miller netted 14 points and Janis Strelnieks 12.

Brose started strong with a pair of triples from Lucca Staiger accounting for the first points. Zvezda didn’t convert a field goal for four minutes, but gradually grew into the game and a low-scoring first quarter ended with Brose ahead 14-11. But Zvezda proceeded to control the second stanza, gaining its first lead through the influential Bjelica and grabbing a double-digit advantage shortly before half-time with Guduric’s coast-to-coast lay-up. The visitors led 29-38 at the break, but the nature of the game changed entirely afterward, with 3 consecutive triples from Melli sparking a flurry of points which also included a pair of long-range strikes from Simonovic. Bamberg scored more points in the third quarter than it had managed in the entire first half and led 61-58 entering the fourth. The game stayed close throughout a tremendously exciting final quarter, with five lead changes in the last 3:42 before Jenkins’s layup finally won it.