Crvena Zvezda opened its EuroLeague account with a hard-fought victory over Anadolu Efes (77-72) at Belgrade Arena, which ended the night applauding the visiting team. With 2:40 remaining in the third quarter and the score at 53-51, Mike James grabbed his right heel while going for a rebound and had to be carried off on a stretcher.
A game of minimal margins
There were never any significant gaps. Anadolu Efes took the first quarter 19-21 and Crvena Zvezda responded in the second with an 18-15 run that turned the scoreboard around. At halftime, 37-36. The third quarter was another back-and-forth exchange with neither team pulling away (19-17) and the final quarter was decided in the details: 21-19 for the hosts.
Ibon Navarro found what he was looking for on the defensive end. The Serbian team held Efes to 72 points, tightened their passing lanes—Ognjen Dobrić recorded four steals—and shut down the Turkish side in the final minutes. "The team found energy on defense, this is for our fans. The win gives us confidence," the Vitoria-born coach said afterward.
Moneke, the most comfortable
Chima Moneke was the game's leading scorer with 18 points. Jordan Nwora added 12, Tyson Carter 11, and Dobrić finished with 10 along with those four steals. For Efes, former Crvena Zvezda player Jordan Lloyd was the most accurate with 17 points, while Dario Šarić and Matthew Strazel each had 13.
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Belgrade's silence
The image of the night was not a basket. James had 22:30 on the court with 11 points and three assists when he got stuck on a non-contact play, in which he felt discomfort in the lower part of his right leg. He was attended to on the court and left on a stretcher, with the arena first silent and then recognizing him with an ovation.
Efes had not communicated the extent of the injury at the time of publication, pending medical tests. The affected area and the mechanics of the play—non-contact, while starting—point to the worst possible scenario for a 36-year-old player, but it's best to wait for the official report before drawing any conclusions.
James arrived in Istanbul this summer on a 1+1 contract after averaging 16.5 points, 6.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 steals in the 2025-26 EuroLeague season with Monaco. He was the competition's MVP in 2024.
Spanish derby on the sidelines
The matchup also had a domestic subplot: Ibon Navarro facing off against Pablo Laso. The Crvena Zvezda coach downplayed the matter without dodging it. "This is more than a Spanish derby, but I wish Pablo the best for this season," he said.
For Navarro it was his first EuroLeague victory as a head coach, in a project that arrived completely rebuilt from top to bottom this summer.