The black and whites without a turnaround in Vilnius

In the first round of the 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 phase, the black and whites lost their away game against Rytas, with the score 80:74 (28:23, 20:19, 17:17, 15:15).

With the game against Rytas in Vilnius, Partizan NIS started the 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 phase. The black and whites opened the game in the capital of Lithuania with an attractive dunk from Bandja Sy, but the home team fought back, and came to a 10-point advantage early in the game. Step by step, the black and whites reduced the deficit, so after 3 minutes of the second quarter Partizan had an advantage, which the home team quickly annulled. Until the end of the first half, Partizan was in the lead one more time (40:41), but the end of this period went to the home team, that had +6.

In the third and fourth quarters, the black and whites were catching up with the opponent's advantage once again, and in the last quarter, they even had a chance to make a complete turnaround. However, after two unused offenses for the black and whites, the home team made points with which they secured a win.

At the press conference after the game, Partizan NIS' coach, Andrea Trinchieri, said:

"Congratulations to Rytas for the win. I believe that in Lithuania, you know basketball very well. This was a good game, with lots of good moves. We fought, we returned to the game, but we made some mistakes that cost us the win. That's our problem. We do a lot of good things, we play very well, the ball moves good, but then, we're not able to stay focused and play with the concentration we need in order to away in the EuroCup Top 16 phase", said Trinchieri.

The black and whites are returning to Belgrade, where they will have four games in a row. The first one is on Saturday, January 5, when Partizan will welcome Mornar in the 14th round of the ABA League.

Rytas

Sirvydis 9, Sutton 21, Stipčević 3, Parakhouski 14, Pilauskas, Seeley 7, Echodas 11, Girdziunas 5, Bendzius 3, Blaževič, Butkevicius 7

Partizan NIS

Paige 6, Sy 5, Aranitović, Marinković 13, Veličković, Pecarski, Zagorac 17, Renfroe 7, Janković 3, Landale 15, Gagić 6, Nikolić 2

(Photo: Rytas Vilnius) 

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