Tuesday night we attended the Red Star basketball game. You may have heard of Red Star’s soccer team. The professional clubs in Serbia as in Europe have teams in many sports. They also have the different levels, beginning with a youth team, moving through to the “A” professional team.
As I explained in a previous post, one of the leagues Red Star participates in is the Adriatic Basketball League, sponsored by the NBL bank. The Round 14 game was against FMP Belgrade. They are from the Belgrade suburb of Zelenik. Red Star is tied for second place in the league with a record of 11 wins and 2 losses. Partizan is in first place and fellow Serbian team, Hemofarm STADA is tied with them. FMP is in 8th place (out of 14) with a 5 and 8 record.
Most of the players on both teams were Serbian. The Serbs are a tall people and this was reflected in the rosters, as there were two 7 footers and many big men around that height. It was a high quality of play, although the players were not quite as athletic as the USA professionals. It was an evenly matched game as the Red Star’s lead fluctuated from 4 to 10 points most of the game.
The difference were the two American players on Red Star. Andre Owens from Indiana University and Lawrence Roberts from Mississippi State, and the Memphis Grizzlies gave Red Star and extra boost when they needed it. You can see Roberts behind Owen. My sister-in-law erased most of my photos and video I took so I don’t have a video post.
The arena is called Pionir Hall and seats 7,000 people. It is located near the center of the city and it was quite easy to find with our GPS. It was in good condition and we bought the best tickets for $20 each. Best thing is kids are free!!! We were a few rows up at mid court. It was mostly filled and the fans were enthusiastic and polite. Overall it was a great experience and we hope to go again. Red Star proved too much in the end and won their 12th game.
Owen and Sebey enjoyed the game. They loved the cheerleaders performing during time outs and the scoreboard. Owen learned what the 24 second shot clock was and how to keep score. I hope both the boys will play basketball as I did when I was younger. I need to put up hoops somewhere outside and inside the house.
We attended the game with Alejandra and Brad and it was an entertaining evening.
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