Reigning champion Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade started the defense of its title by holding on to beat Unicaja Malaga 73-68 in the first game of Group B at the ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT. Crvena Zvezda nearly wasted a 30-point lead and watched as Unicaja used a 21-2 run to cut a 22-point deficit to three points with the ball and 30 seconds to play. But Crvena Zvezda survived as Borisa Simanic led the way for with 13 points while Vojislav Stojanovic had 12 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals as the Serbian club moved to 1-0. Aleksa Radanov added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists for Crvena Zvezda. Unicaja dropped to 0-1 despite 13 points from Rares Uta while Romaric Belemene, Jose Rodriguez and Marko Grkovic all had 11 points in the defeat.

Unicaja opened the game with a three-point play from Belemene. Nikola Rakicevic’s three-point play gave Crvena Zvezda its first lead at 5-3. Unicaja would not lead again though Carlos Corts evened the game at 5-5. The Spanish side trailed just 10-9 before Simanic and Stojanovic both nailed three-pointers for a 16-9 advantage. Grkovic converted to free throws to trim the gap to 16-13 but Nemanja Kapetanovic drained a long ball as Crvena Zvezda was leading 25-14 after one quarter. Uta twice scored to bring Unicaja to within six points. But the reigning champs went on a 10-0 run to open a 37-21 cushion. And it was a 20-point game 43-23 after a Simanic breakaway dunk - which was also the score at intermission.

David Miladinovic’s basket to open the second half increased the lead to 22 points before seven straight Unicaja points, cutting the gap to 45-28. A Belemene three-ball made it 47-31 but the Unicaja offense could not control the ball, going scoreless for 4:18 minutes while Crvena Zvezda opened a 55-31 advantage. The lead grew to 30 points on Aleksandar Aranitovic’s three-pointer for a 63-33 scoreline. Crvena Zvezda was up 65-40 after three quarters. Unicaja continued its push early in the fourth, scoring the first seven points to cut the deficit to 65-47. Crvena Zvezda answered with four straight points for a 69-47 lead with eight minutes to play. Unicaja slowly chipped away at the lead and Crvena Zvezda committed a number of turnovers before Rodriguez’s three-pointer to make it 71-62. Grkovic followed up with another three and then converted three free throws to get Unicaja to within 71-68. Rodriguez lost the handle of the ball in the corner with 30 seconds left and Stojanovic twice split two free throws to secure the win.