The host Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade never trailed, beating INSEP Paris 77-54 on Friday evening. Win improved Zvezda to 2-0 in Group A at the Belgrade NIJT Qualifying Tournament, all but securing its place in Saturday’s semifinals, while INSEP dropped to 0-2. The hosts put together a 13-0 run bridging the first and second quarters for 25-11 lead. INSEP answered with a 2-11 run, closing within 5 points just before halftime, but Jovan Andjelkovic scored 7 points in the final 40 seconds of the half, before Zvezda extended it to 48-26 midway through the third quarter, and never looked back. Jovan Stojanovic led Zvezda with 12 points, Danilo Ostojic, Andjelkovic and Aleksandar Arnitovic had 9 apiece, while Nikola Rakicevic added 7 points, 7 assists and 6 steals in victory. Cyrille Eliezer-Vanerot had 12, and Stephane Gombauld finished with 10 in defeat.

The hosts used seven different scorers in the first quarter to start building its lead, with Stojanovic leading the way with a pair of layups. Meanwhile, Eliezer-Vanerot scored twice from long range for INSEP, cutting it to 12-11, but Stojanovic sparked a run in the first quarter, and Rakicevic continued it with 7 points, including a triple, to start the second for 25-11. INSEP rallied with defense that led to fastbreaks, while Elie Fedensieu hit a triple, and Lucas Dussoulier made a put-back for 27-22. However, in the final minute of the half, Andjelkovic made 4 free throws and a triple for 35-22 at halftime, and at the start of the third Stojanovic scored 6 more points while Bratislav Jekovic and Marko Radovanovic hit triples to help build 53-26 lead. Jonathan Jeanne had a dunk to snap INSEP’s drought, but Nemanja Dorovic made it 59-28 after three quarters. With the winner clearly decided, Timothe Vergiat scored a basket-plus foul for INSEP, but Arnitovic nailed a triple for the biggest margin of the night, 66-33. Dussoulier scored twice from close range on the other end, and Stephane Gombauld scored 10 points to cut into the deficit before game’s end.