After a shaky first half, Nicky Anosike went off in the 3rd and brought Ramla from down 10 to plus three. Ramla wasn't able to break away from the Red Star, but led 62 – 55 with five to play. Both teams couldn't buy a field goal in a frightening ending. Ramla held on in the final seconds thanks to free throws, 65 – 62, and remained perfect.
Red Star Belgrade 62 – Elizur Ramla 65
Boxscore
The Israeli defending champs maintained their perfect record in Europe with a narrow win at Belgrade. Nicky Anosike had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the 2nd half and Annemarie Parau had a good game as they led Ramla to a victory despite slow nights for Tan White and Olena Ogorodnikova. Ramla led by seven with five to play but didn’t score another point until the Serbs tied it, 62 – 62 with 25 seconds to go. Parau made two free throws and Abramzon had a big steal and split two free throws to put Ramla over the top. Barely.
The opening minutes weren't encouraging. Ramla needed five whole minutes to record their first field goal but was able to get to the line enough to stay close, just 13 -16 after one. Tan White heat up in the 2nd quarter and helped Ramla to a 25 – 22 lead, but the locals closed out the quarter better as Ramla struggled on the defensive glass with Anosike struck by foul trouble, 28 – 33 at the half.
Ramla didn’t get off to a good start in the 3rd either as the locals went up 38 – 28 in under two minutes. This was the start of the Anosike show as she began dominating the boards, blocking shots and leading Ramla on a 9 – 0 run with seven of her own, 37 – 38. The locals stopped the bleeding and got to the line often to take a 46 – 39 lead, but Anosike put an end to that. She added eight more points in the quarter and put Ramla up 53 – 50.
Anosike scored twice more, Ortal Oren nailed a three and White drove for a layup to make it 62 – 55 with five minutes to play. Till the end of the game Ramla went 0 for 6 with two turnovers, and committed a lot of fouls. The Serbs hit just three of six free throws to cut it to 58 – 62 with 3:30 left. The scoreboard didn’t budge until the game's final minute when the Red Star hit a layup after Parau travelled, 60 – 62, 45 seconds. On the next possession White turned it over and committed a quick foul, 62 – 62, 24 seconds. The Serbs sent Ramla to the line and Parau calmly sank both. Abramzon got a big steal with 11 seconds left and was also fouled. Eight seconds, first in, second out. Ramla survives.
For Ramla:
Nicky Anosike 23 pts, 16 rebs
Annemarie Parau 14 pts, 4 rebs, 4 ast
Tan White 11 pts, 5 rebs
Olena Ogorodnikova 9 pts, 8 rebs
Katia Abramzon & Ortal Oren 3 pts each
Inbal Mizrachi 2 pts
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