Partizan and Porto Draw 33-33 as Andjelkovic Saves a Point

With three seconds left and a timeout called by coach Raul Gonzales, Partizan worked a free man onto the wing in the final attack. Lazar Andjelkovic was the one standing there, and his goal made it Partizan Porto 33-33. It is the black and whites’ first point in this year’s Champions League, and it ends a 14-year wait for a point in the competition.

The match, the fifth of six rounds in Group A, was played on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at the Aleksandar Nikolic (Pionir) hall in Belgrade. Porto led 16-14 at halftime. The table did not move: Partizan is still last in the group after this point. We previously published a preview of this match, in which Partizan’s players said they were going for a win.

How did Porto build a seven-goal lead?

The hosts opened well, but the middle of the first half turned against them. Porto went on a 4-0 run to lead 10-7. Belarusian Vladislav Kules was shut down, and goalkeeper Luka Krivokapic made three saves. Goalkeeper Andrej Trnavac brought Partizan back into the game with four saves over a short stretch of the half, and the gap was two goals at the break.

After the restart the visitors went on another 4-0 run. By the 35th minute Porto led 20-14, six goals clear, and the biggest lead was seven, at 22-15. In the Portuguese goal, Swede Sebastian Abrahamson made 11 saves.

What changed in the last 15 minutes?

Partizan only began to chip away at the lead near the end. The hosts closed to 22-26, then to 23-26 after captain Ivan Micic won a seven-meter throw. Milija Papovic converted a seven-meter in the 54th minute to make it 26-28, and Micic cut the gap to 28-29 five minutes from time. From there it was goal for goal, all the way to Andjelkovic’s strike in the final seconds.

Micic came back onto the court earlier than planned. Left back Sima Sijan was ill, and goalkeeper Bekir Cordalija was not in the squad.

Who scored and who made the saves

Nikola Crnoglavac was Partizan’s top scorer, though sources disagree on his tally. Mozzart Sport credits him with nine goals, five of them from seven-meter throws, along with two missed seven-meters, while B92 lists eight. Kules scored six goals and Aljosa Damjanovic four.

For Porto, Pedro Oliveira scored six, and Ricardo Brandao and Vasco Costa five each. Partizan’s goalkeepers combined for seven saves: Trnavac four, Krivokapic three.

Trnavac: We got that point

After the match, Trnavac told B92 how Partizan approached the game.

“I think we started very tight, as we do in every Champions League game,” Trnavac said, adding that the team allowed a lot of easy goals and clear chances.

Of his entrance from the bench, the goalkeeper said: “Maybe my entrance brought some energy, I saved a few clear chances and in the end we got that point.”

Asked how he felt after three home games in the Champions League, he answered:

“There is nothing to say, it is a big school for us. It is up to us to work, to fight, and to make these 15 minutes against Porto our guide, so that we play like that for all 60 minutes, not just 15.”

Asked about the team’s ambitions for the rest of the season, Trnavac said: “We are going for every trophy and to get as far as possible in the European League.”

An empty stand at Pionir

Pionir was emptier this time than at earlier matches. About 1,000 spectators came for the Porto game. Two weeks ago, against Veszprem, there were 2,500, and at the group opener against Fuchse, 3,500.

Partizan plays its last group game next week away at Fuchse Berlin. The point from Pionir does not change the table, and in Berlin Partizan carries what Trnavac called a guide: 15 minutes of play that should last the full 60.