ić and Martin, though we shouldn’t overlook the likes of Dobrić, Mitro- vić, Lazić, Marković... Partizan, on the other hand, has strengthened its ranks where it needed to. Željko Obradović, the most successful coach in the histo- ry of European basketball, has up- graded the team from his first sea- son and brought in four experienced players: Danilo Anđušić, Dante Ex- um, James Nunnally and Ioannis Papapetrou. With the retention of Punter, LeDay, Avramović and Les- sort, Partizan has a team that won’t be paying much heed to the words of Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympics, who insist- ed that ‘the important thing is not to win, but to take part’. That’s be- cause you can be sure that the black & whites aren’t returning to the Eu- roLeague just to take part... Though Obradović is trying to keep the eu- phoria and desire of fans to a rea- sonable level, given that the season will run for almost eight months. “People somehow forget that very easily and tell various stories. I am here to lead Partizan the best I can and for the fans to recognise what Partizan has always been, a team that heads onto the court and gives its all. In that sense, I expect these young players to use the year of experience they gained last season to help them compete at an even bet- ter level. I expect all the other play- ers that have essential EuroLeague and ABA League experience to be at the level that’s required for Partizan to be at its best,” said Obradović.
Ovo je tim koji je sastavljen od pobednika, momaka s karakterom This is a team composed of winners, guys with character
BOTH RED STAR AND PARTIZAN Let the EuroLeague begin!
THE SERBIAN CAPITAL HAD TWO CLUBS COMPETING in basketball’s EuroLeague in the 2013/14 season, though Red Star and Partizan were then in different groups, so there was no eternal der- by. This time around there will be, on 8 th December in what we expect to be a packed Štark Arena, where the black & whites will play their home matches. The team from Little Kalemeg- dan will host a second duel on 27 th January, in round 21 of the Euro- League. The red & whites have re- mained loyal to Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, popularly referred to as Pionir Hall, and we can already state with certainty that it will be packed to the rafters. And not only that: Belgrade will also be a popular basketball tour- ism destination for other EuroLe- ague clubs’ fans, large numbers of whom have already announced their arrival, with the new season of the elite competition getting underway Efes, and Athens, which is home to Panathinaikos and Olympiacos Belgrade once again has two representatives in basketball’s EuroLeague. The continent’s only other cities to enjoy such an honour are Istanbul, with Fenerbahçe and
on 6 th October. Just one day later, Red Star will visit reigning EuroLe- ague champions Efes, led by Serbia’s own Vasilij Micić, while Partizan will be playing away against Alba Berlin. We shouldn’t be concerned about fans and packed halls in Bel- grade, but what about the ambitions of the city’s eternal rivals? Red Star has changed its team from top to bottom. The trophy-winning Dejan Radonjić is no longer leading from the bench, having moved to Pana- thinaikos, the club that Belgrade’s red & whites will host to open the new season on their home court. Attempting to follow in Radonjić’s successful footsteps will be young coach Vladimir Jovanović, for whom this season’s EuroLeague will repre- sent his baptism of fire. “There’s no pressure; this is something that’s part of this job and is faced by other teams. This is a team composed of winners, guys with character, who train hard every day, and that’s what we really have to do if we want to be good this sea- son. And I’m hopeful that we will be good,” said Jovanović. Yes, there’s no pressure, but there’s also no Kalinić, Davidovac, Zirbes, Walters, Hollins... The team’s top star is now national team player Nemanja Nedović, who competed for Serbia in the EuroBasket cham- pionship. Other new arrivals include Petrušev, Adams, Bentil, Holland, Il-
Ovde sam da vodim Parti- zan najbolje što mogu I am here to lead Partizan the best I can
106 | Košarka »Basketball
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