Partizan downs Buducnost for third place

U18 Partizan NIS Belgrade captured third place at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade with a convincing 79-67 victory over U18 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. Marko Vukcevic paced Partizan with 21 points and 9 rebounds while Dordije Jovanovic scored 18 points and Matija Vucic picked up 12 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. Tomislav Ivisic was Buducnost’s top scorer with 24 points and 11 rebounds while Eray Buyukcangaz had 17 points in the loss.

Vukcevic scored six points in helping Partizan take a 16-5 early on. Vukcevic’s three-point play increased the lead to 21-9 and the Serbian side led 26-14 after 10 minutes. Buyukcangaz knocked down two three-pointers in a 3-13 run early in the second quarter to close the gap to 32-37. Partizan responded with a 9-2 surge and was up 41-29. And the score was 43-34 at the break.

Srdan Popovic knocked down two three-pointers as Partizan started the second half well and led 51-37. The cushion grew out to 58-40 midway through the quarter. Buducnost fought back with Ivisic and Milos Stijepovic hitting three-pointers in a 4-12 spurt to make it 62-52. But Partizan had a 66-52 advantage after 30 minutes. Buducnost held Partizan scoreless for the first 2 minutes of the fourth quarter but could not cut into the lead with just one basket. An Ivisic three-pointer had Buducnost as close as 70-60, but Jovanovic scored four points and Vukcevic hit a three-pointer as the cushion swelled to 79-62.