Zvezda beat Benetton at their court

Filip Videnov (Photo: Adriatic League)

02-12-2009 09:38

Crvena Zvezda confirmed its good moment and climbed atop the Group F standings by edging Benetton Gioco Digitale 71-78 in Treviso, Italy on Tuesday night. C. Zvezda is the only undefeated team in Group F with a 2-0 record while Benetton ties for second place with Cholet Basket at 1-1.

Elmedin Kikanovic paced the winners with 21 points on 8-of-13 two-pointers. Marko Keselj had 18, Tadija Dragicevic added 14 while Filip Videnov got 11 for C. Zvezda.

Gary Neal led Benetton with 22 points. Davor Kus added 16, Jasmin Hukic had 10 while CJ Wallace pulled down 9 rebounds for the hosts.

Kikanovic and Videnov fueled a 1-15 opening run that allowed Zvezda to keep a 14-23 lead after 10 minutes. Neal rescued Benetton and gave the hosts a 36-35 edge near halftime. A dunk by Donatas Motiejunas gave Benetton its last lead, 67-65, with 4 minutes remaining. Dragicevic downed a triple, igniting a 3-9 run in which Kikanovic had 6 points to seal the outcome, 69-74, as Benetton did not recover.