Partizan Beats Alimpijevic's Besiktas 89-71 at Kalemegdan

The sun was setting behind the Kalemegdan fortress when the last match of the Open Air tournament got underway, and on the visiting bench sat a man well known to Serbian basketball fans: national team coach Dusan Alimpijevic, this time in charge of Besiktas. Last night, September 13, Partizan hosted the Turkish side on the court built at Kalemegdan, in a match that closed out the three day “AdmiralBet Open Air” program.

This was no ordinary preparation game. The court stood in the open, under the Belgrade sky, instead of in the arena where Partizan normally trains and plays. Joan Penarroya’s team had already picked up one win at the tournament, against Spain’s Fuenlabrada, but Besiktas was an entirely different kind of test. The Turkish club plays in the EuroLeague, the same competition Partizan will enter on September 25, which made the Kalemegdan match the last and most serious obstacle before the three day program wrapped up.

The first quarter gave no hint of an easy night for the black and whites. Besiktas played tight, created its own chances and stayed within range, so the scoreboard read 16-15 for the visitors after ten minutes. Partizan then picked up the pace. By the end of the second quarter, Penarroya’s side had built a five point lead, 43-38 at halftime, having won the second period convincingly, 28-22.

The turning point came after the break. Partizan pulled away into double digits by winning the third quarter 23-17, and from there the outcome was effectively settled. The final period, 23-16 in the black and whites’ favor, passed without any real suspense, letting Penarroya rotate his bench freely and spread minutes across more players rather than push his best five all the way to the final whistle. The match ended 89-71 for Partizan.

The most effective player on the court was Carlik Jones with 22 points, who carried Partizan’s offense throughout the game. Behind him was Lamar Stevens, though sources differ here: Tanjug reports he scored 11 points, while Kurir puts the number at 13. Arijan Lakic and Nikola Tanaskovic added nine points apiece, according to Tanjug’s account. For Besiktas, Scottie Wilbekin led the way with 18 and Jaylen Noel added 16, enough to keep the game uncertain for stretches but not enough to prevent the loss.

Partizan closed out the Kalemegdan tournament with a perfect two wins from two games, without a single defeat across the three days of outdoor basketball. For a team that overhauled much of its roster over the summer, this was the first real examination against EuroLeague opposition, exactly the kind of test Penarroya needed before the official season begins. The new arrivals got minutes on an open air court against a serious EuroLeague rival, a very different proposition from the controlled conditions of an arena.

Partizan’s next test comes in just a week, this time away from Belgrade. The black and whites face PAOK on September 18 at 6 p.m. in the semifinal of the “Pavlos Giannakopoulos” tournament in Athens, followed a day later, on September 19, by the placement game. The real season starts on September 25, when Partizan hosts Armani Milan in the EuroLeague.

Judging by what was on display at Kalemegdan, Penarroya is gradually finding answers to the questions the summer raised. Jones looks like the player who will carry the offense, the bench has enough depth to withstand rotations, and there is still time before September 25 and Armani’s visit to turn all of this into something more serious than a preparation game played in the open air.