Buducnost vs Partizan in final

Rakocevic (right, Red Star) tries to steal a ball from Radosevic

In dramatic fashion Partizan Belgrade got their third win against arch-rivals Red Star and reached the final of the Yugoslav Men's Basketball League play-offs.

At the start of the second-half Partizan made an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the game - 47-36 with 14 minutes left.

Cubrilo (left, Partizan) shoots beside Radmanovic

Trailing by 11 points, Red Star managed to cut the deficit to 44-48 with 12 minutes remaining. Partizan, thanks to Nenad Canak, their best player in the semi-final matches, took a 65-55 lead. Three-pointers by Lukovski and Bolic gave Red Star a new hope - 61-65. In the last two minutes Red Star players missed nine free throws. Partizan made fewer mistakes and deservedly won.

Play-off finals will start on May 2. Buducnost will host Partizan in first two games (2-2-1).

Yugoslav Men's Basketball League, play-off, semi-finals, fifth match, Belgrade, April 23

PARTIZAN Belgrade - RED STAR Belgrade 67-65 (39-36) - 3-2 in victories

"Pionir" Hall. Attendance: 6,500. Referees: B. Jovanovic (Belgrade) and Z. Jovanovic (Novi Sad)

PARTIZAN: Djokic 8, Petrovic 5, Cubrilo 14, Markovic 7, Raicevic, Varda 5 (five rebounds), Mladenov, Radosevic 10, Canak 18.

RED STAR: Boskovic 7, Rakocevic 4, Radmanovic 10 (seven rebounds), Stanojevic 14, Bolic 9, Topalovic, Jestratijevic 6, Tica, Lukovski 15.

Decision in the fifth game

Zeljko Topalovic (left, Red Star) and Nenad Canak (Partizan)

The second finalist of the Yugoslav Basketball Championship playoffs will be known after the fifth game between Partizan and Red Star. In the fourth game, thanks to their aggressive play and more rebounds, players in "red and white" managed to score the second victory and achieve psychological advantage before the fifth game, which will be played on April 23 in the "Pionir" hall in Belgrade.

Yugoslav Men's Basketball League, play-off, semi-finals, fourth match, Belgrade, April 21

RED STAR Belgrade - PARTIZAN Belgrade 82-79 (32-41)

"Pionir" Hall. Attendance: 5,500. Referees: Dimitrijevic and Belosevic (both from Belgrade).

RED STAR: Boskovic 21, Rakocevic 4, Radmanovic 13 (11 rebounds), Stanojevic 8, Bolic 2, Topalovic 4, Jestratijevic 4, Lukovski 26.

PARTIZAN: Djokic 3, Petrovic 5 (7 rebounds), Cubrilo 7, Markovic 24, Raicevic, Varda 8, Radosevic 6, Canak 26.

Red Star is back on track

Dragan Markovic (left, Partizan) and Goran Boskovic

Red Star prolonged the suspense about the second participant of the play-off finals, since in the third match it convincingly defeated town rival Partizan and reduced the score in victories to 1-2.

In its best game in the whole season, players in red and white dominated throughout the whole match. The beginning of the match was very interesting - center of Red Star, Nikola Jestratijevic, got injured already in the first minute, while Lukovski from Red Star and Petrovic from Partizan were sent off in the third minute by the referee Jovicic, due to the squabble between them.

After the first five minutes Red Star led 12-0, which largely influenced the further course of the game. With their fantastic game from the tenth to the twenty-third minute, players in red and white made a score 36-10 and achieved the greatest lead in the match - 57-25!

Partizan several times tried to get back in the game, basing its play on enthusiastic Dragan Markovic, but it was disillusioned very soon by attractive plays of Boskovic, Radmanovic and the rest of the team.

The next, fourth game, is played on April 21st.

Buducnost was, as expected, better than Hemofarm with 3-0 in victories, and it became the first participant in the play-off finals. In the third game in Vrsac, Hemofarm was an equal rival to Podgorica players only in the first ten minutes. Buducnost ended the first half-time with 14 points of advantage. During the second half it had even 16 points of advantage, but in the finish its players became relaxed, so the match had a dramatic turn in the last minutes. In the end the quality of the visiting team was decisive.

Yugoslav Men's Basketball League, play-off, semi-finals, third match, Belgrade, April 19

RED STAR Belgrade - PARTIZAN Belgrade 90-68 (50-25)

"Pionir" Hall. Attendance: 5,000. Referees: Jovicic (Belgrade) and Neskovic (Kraljevo).

RED STAR: Boskovic 21, Cvetic, Rakocevic 18, Radmanovic 18 (8 rebounds), Stanojevic 21, Bolic 8, Topalovic 2, Jestratijevic, Vujanic, Tica 2, Lukovski.

PARTIZAN: Djokic 18, Petrovic, Ilijevski 5, Cubrilo 2, Markovic 23 (9 rebounds), Raicevic, Varda 1, Mladenov, Radosevic 8, Avdalovic, Canak 11.

Yugoslav Men's Basketball League, play-off, semi-finals, third match, Vrsac, April 19

HEMOFARM Vrsac - BUDUCNOST Podgorica 67-76 (32-46)

Hall in Vrsac. Attendance: 1,500. Referees: B. Jovanovic and Ljuca (both from Belgrade).

HEMOFARM: Djokic 7, Vidacic 11, Pekovic 4, Djogo 13, Savic 9 (4 rebounds), Dragutinovic 7, Vucurovic 2, Stefanovic 8, Bozic 2, Zecevic 4, Mi. Ivanovic.

BUDUCNOST: Pajovic 7, Topic 7 (8 rebounds), Tomasevic 17, Kuzmanovic 2, Scepanovic 16, Brkic 11, Radonjic 9, Vukcevic 7.

Partizan and Buducnost step away from the final

Stanojevic (red jersey,Red Star) and Raicevic fight for the ball

Partizan and Buducnost are only a step away from the final of the Yugoslav Men's Basketball League play-offs after beating their opponents in the second-leg matches.

Partizan recorded another victory against arch-rival Red Star, thanks to the excellent play in the second-half. Partizan players were more aggressive in the defence and grabbed more offensive rebounds. Everything was over in the 36th minute when Partizan had an 85-66 lead.

Beating Hemofarm in Podgorica, Buducnost got their 24th victory in a row. Only first ten minutes of the match guests from Vrsac were equal opponents to Buducnost. Later, hosts, who have more extra players, controlled the result with no problem.

Yugoslav Men's Basketball League, play-off, semi-finals, second-leg match, Belgrade, April 17

PARTIZAN Belgrade - RED STAR Belgrade 91-83 (44-41)

"Pionir" Hall. Attendance: 4.500. Referees: B. Jovanovic and Jovicic (both from Belgrade).

PARTIZAN: Djokic 3, Petrovic 19, Ilijevski 1, Cubrilo 14, Markovic 5, Raicevic 9, Varda 18 (7 rebounds), Radosevic 13, Canak 9.

RED STAR: Boskovic 11, Rakocevic 14, Radmanovic 5, Stanojevic 16, Bolic 9, Topalovic 7, Jestratijevic 1, Vujanic 8, Lukovski 12.

Yugoslav Men's Basketball League, play-off, semi-finals, second-leg match, Podgorica, April 17

BUDUCNOST Podgorica - HEMOFARM Vrsac 79-70 (43-34)

Sports Centre "Moraca". Attendance: 600. Referees: Belosevic (Belgrade) and Neskovic (Kraljevo).

BUDUCNOST: Scepanovic 16, Pajovic, Brkic 9, Radonjic 15, Tomasevic 23 (15 rebounds), Topic 15, Vukcevic 1, Kuzmanovic.

HEMOFARM: Pekovic 14, Savic 21, Djogo 6, Vidacic 9, Zecevic 10, Dragutinovic 6, Vucurovic 2, Djokic, Stepanovic, Bozic, Mi. Ivanovic 2.

Victories of Buducnost and Partizan

Canak (white, Partizan) and Tica (11, Red Star) jump for the bal

Partizan and Buducnost recorded their first victories in the first semi-final matches of the Yugoslav Men's Basketball League play-offs.

Thanks to Bolic's good play from the start of the match, Red Star had a 31-22 lead. In this period of the game Partizan were only 11/35 from the field and their best scorer Miroslav Radosevic scored his first points in the 17th minute.

Bolic spent a most of second half out of the court through slight injury. Partizan made an 18-2 run for 62-49 in the 28th minute. In last five minutes Red Star guard Igor Rakocevic scored eight points in a row, giving his team a chance to win. Partizan missed a shot with 29 seconds left and Rakocevic got a ball. Red Stars center Zeljko Topalovic failed to bring his team a victory, missing three-pointer with ten seconds remaining.

Buducnost got another win, but not so easy as expected. Hemofarm, despite absence of their first center Marko Ivanovic, had a 51-45 lead midway through the second half. Thanks to Vlado Scepanovic's three-pointers and Dejan Tomasevic's good play in the last minutes, Buducnost prevented surprise.

The second matches will be played on April 17.

Yugoslav Men's Basketball League, play-off, semi-finals, first match, Belgrade, April 15

PARTIZAN Belgrade - RED STAR Belgrade 77-75 (37-40)

"Pionir" Hall. Attendance: 3,800. Referees: Ljuca and Belosevic (both from Belgrade).

PARTIZAN: Djokic 2, Petrovic 8, Cubrilo 11, Markovic 7, Raicevic 12, Varda 2, Radosevic 18, Canak 19 (seven rebounds).

RED STAR: Boskovic 1, Rakocevic 10, Radmanovic 7, Stanojevic 10, Bolic 13, Topalovicæ 8 (eight rebounds), Tica 7, Lukovski 19.

Yugoslav Men's Basketball League, play-off, semi-finals, first match, Podgorica, April 15

BUDUCNOST Podgorica - HEMOFARM Vrsac 76-62 (37-33)

Sports Centre "Moraca". Attendance: 2,000. Referees: Jovcic (Belgrade) and Z. Jovanovic (Novi Sad).

BUDUCNOST: Scepanovic 15, Brkic 5, Radonjic 11, Kuzmanovic 12, Tomasevic 20 (17 rebounds), Topic 4, Vukcevic 1, Bulatovic 8, Pajovic.

HEMOFARM: Dragutinovic 4, Vucurovic 2, Stepanovic 5, Pekovic 9, Savic 14 (six rebounds), Djogo 4, Vidacic 13, Zecevic 7, Mi. Ivanovic 4, Bozic.