Get ready for the 5th chapter of Crvena zvezda Meridianbet vs. Budućnost VOLI rivalry in the Playoffs

Crvena zvezda Meridianbet and Budućnost VOLI will face each other in the 2022/23 AdmiralBet ABA League Semi-Finals, while it is interesting to mention that this will be the 5th time in league history that these two old rivals will play against each other in the regional league Playoffs/Final Tournaments.

So far the score is 3-1 for the Belgrade team.

Their first Playoffs encounter came in the semi-finals of the 2016/17 season. Back then, Crvena zvezda Meridianbet used home-court advantage to win the series by 2-1 and progress to the Finals.

Charles Jenkins and Marko Simonović shined in decisive Game 3 by scoring 6 three-pointers combined to lead the red-and-whites toward the win.

In the following season, Crvena zvezda Meridianbet and Budućnost VOLI faced each other in the 2017/18 Finals. Once again, the Belgrade team had a home-court advantage, but Budućnost VOLI grabbed a very important road win already in Game 1 to take the lead in the series.

Before the decisive Game 4, Budućnost VOLI had a 2-1 lead in the series and had a chance to win the title at home court. And, the blue-and-whites managed to write history as they prevailed in a thrilling ending to clinch their first ever regional league title.

The hero of Game 4 was Nikola Ivanović who scored 4 consecutive points late in the 4^th quarter to seal the win for the Podgorica side.

In the 2018/19 season, the two old rivals met once again the Finals and this time the winner of the series was decided in Game 5. It was also the first time ever in league history that we had Game 5 in the Finals.

Crvena zvezda Meridianbet presented a powerful performance in the decisive match that was played in Belgrade, beating their rivals by 97:54 to win the series and clinch the precious trophy.

In Game 5 we saw one of the best plays of the entire 2018/19 season when Boriša Simanić completed a block & alley-oop sequence to ignite the crowd in Aleksandar Nikolić Sports Hall.

The last time Crvena zvezda Meridianbet and Budućnost VOLI faced each other in the Playoffs was their 3^rd consecutive clash in the Finals that we watched in the 2020/21 season.

Once again the series went into Game 5 in Belgrade and once again Crvena zvezda Meridianbet prevailed and seized the trophy.

In a very exciting and close game, the key moment happened at the start of the last minute when Jordan Loyd hit the 3-pointer to seal the win for the Belgrade team.

2016/17 Semi-Finals:

CRVENA ZVEZDA MERIDIANBET – Budućnost VOLI 2-1 (82:67 | 57:63 | 82:59)

2017/18 Finals:

Crvena zvezda Meridianbet – BUDUĆNOST VOLI 1-3 (76:80 | 69:59 | 77:78 | 73:77)

2018/19 Finals:

CRVENA ZVEZDA MERIDIANBET – Budućnost VOLI 3-2 (91:72 | 107:69 | 72:80 | 80:84 | 97:54)

2020/21 Finals:

CRVENA ZVEZDA MERIDIANBET – Budućnost VOLI 3-2 (82:78 | 85:79 | 71:75 | 80:81 | 67:60)