Zvezda triumphed in a thriller over Budućnost and are 2:0 up in the Finals

2021 ABA League Finals, Game 2, Tuesday, 18 May 2021:

CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS - Budućnost VOLI 85:79 (32:17, 25:24, 8:29, 22:9

PHOTO GALLERY

POST-GAME COMMENTS

Game recap: In the Game 2 of the ABA League Finals, Crvena zvezda mts have prevailed over Budućnost VOLI, protected their home court once more and took a 2:0 advantage in the series. Once again, we have witnessed an exciting game in Aleksandar Nikolić Hall and, once more the outcome has been just like in Game 1 – the red and white of Belgrade have emerged victorious and they are now just a step away from clinching their ABA League Championship trophy for the 2020/21 season. If they do it just once in the remaining possible three games of the series, they will be crowned champions for the second time in a row.

Key moments: Crvena zvezda mts have opened the game with phenomenal three minutes, as they have pulled away to the score of 10:1. They have continued to grind through the first quarter and their lead reached 15 points (25:10) with 2 minutes left in the opening quarter. It seemed, like they have done the majority of their job then, as they have departed to the big break with 16 points of advantage, but Budućnost VOLI fought back in the second half, as they have opened the third period with a 29:6 run, turning the game completely upside down and they were up by 7 points at the start of the final quarter (63:70).

However, the game was not over. With less than 4 minutes remaining in the game, Marko Simonović took Crvena zvezda mts in front again (76:74) with a lay-up and the thriller followed in the final minutes. After a triple by Ognjen Dobrić, Crvena zvezda mts entered the final minute with a 2-point advantage (81:79). With 4 free throws, Jordan Loyd and Marko Simonović increased the advantage to 6 points with 22 seconds on the game clock, while Budućnost failed to score in the remainder of the playing time and the game was over.

Man of the match: Ognjen Dobrić has demonstrated a dominant performance for Crvena zvezda mts. Not only was his presence on the court invaluable for his team in terms of energy and defensive performance, which helped fire up the entire home team, but he also finished the game with 27 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and a valuation of 27 on his record and has rightfully earned himself the Man of the Match title.

Can’t trick the stats: It has been the assists/turnover ratio, that pushed Crvena zvezda mts over Budućnost VOLI, as Zvezda had 20 assists and only 6 turnovers, while on the other side, Budućnost VOLI had no more than 13 assists and as many as 12 turnovers. This turned out to be crucial in the end, despite Budućnost VOLI having won the rebounding battle.