Partizan basketball players booked their fifth „eternal derby“ of the season in all competitions with a victory over Vojvodina (80:67), and the coach of the black and whites, Željko Obradović, appeals to the fans to send a beautiful image from the Radivoj Korać Cup final to Europe and the world.

The Vojvodina team played an excellent tournament, but the EuroLeague team from Humska was still too tough for the participants of the Basketball League of Serbia (KLS).

As expected, a new derby of Belgrade rivals is ahead of us, and in addition to prestige, the „Žućkova levica“ will also be at stake. Crvena zvezda is the defending champion, and Partizan is a serious candidate to put the first trophy of the season in their trophy case, after last year finishing the competition in the semifinals with a loss to Mega.

„Yellow Match“ Winners Partizan – Naneli and Doužer
The fans are eagerly anticipating the final, and the „double cylinder“ coach Željko Obradović had a request for them.

„I have highlighted a few things; that it be fair play and that we talk about basketball. Tomorrow is the final between two great teams, and I hope everything will go fairly and sportsmanlike. I appeal to Partizan fans to behave adequately. This court is not a place to insult anyone. We are rivals, but sports friends. May the better team win. I remember the first year at the Kup in Niš when both Red Star and Partizan fans sang „Marš na Drinu“ together. Let everything end in a dignified manner and that such an image tours Europe,“ said the successful coach.

In addition to the stands, he also expressed a wish for everything to go smoothly on the court, and will ask his players for adequate behavior and quality basketball.

„Tommorow is a big final. What I want is to relieve the team to the maximum. Let motivation be at the highest level, but emotions need to be controlled. Basketball should be important and players shouldn’t think about anything else. We have two more competitions to participate in. We know where we are and what we are, what we need to do to continue playing with the same ambitions and what we can do,“ Obradović said.

The „Yellow hand“ pointed out the opponent of the day. He displayed praise for the first-placed team in the KLS and also for the younger colleague coach on the bench of Vojvodina, Miloš Isakova Kovačević.

„I warned the players before the match that we are playing against a very experienced team. I told them that they will play against players who have experience playing in the ABA league. I would take this opportunity to congratulate Vojvodina on everything they have done in the Cup. Miloš Isakov Kovačević is doing an excellent job, and I congratulate him on that. They have clear ideas about how they want to play and they have shown good resistance. Maybe in the end there was a too big difference, but I congratulate the players on the game and the qualification for the final,“ said the time-honored coach of Panathinaikos.

The Red Star coach has already spoken about the Cup as a competition in which surprises are quite possible, and that is what Željko Obradović repeated. He also pointed out Vojvodina’s quality and believes they have a good enough lineup to play in the regional championship.

„There is no doubt that they have the quality to be members of the ABA league. It will depend on them and their ambitions, and I think they have them. The Cup is such a competition where motivation is very important. Those who play with greater motivation have a greater chance of winning. When you look and I hope you follow the results across Europe, you see how many surprises there are. That’s the Cup and that’s why everyone finds it interesting. Every participant is given a chance,“ Željko explained.

Finally, he also touched on the coaching profession in Serbia, and joked about his future.

„Everything is done to enable young coaches to improve. I haven’t banned any of the young coaches from watching the training, everything I could do, I did. It’s up to their wish. They work well, they have a lot of programs, and the Belgrade Clinic is known not only with us, but throughout Europe. There will come a moment when I need to retire. I have a friend who will whisper to me when I need to retire,“ Obradović emphasized.