Red Star win Serbian basketball league title after playoff finals game abandoned

BELGRADE - Defending champions Red Star Belgrade have won the Serbian basketball Super League title after Wednesday's Game 2 of their playoff finals series against arch-rivals Partizan was abandoned due to crowd trouble.

The game, hosted by Partizan at the Belgrade Arena, is set to be forfeited 20-0 in favour of Red Star, which practically means that the Red-and-Whites have won the best-of-three finals series 2-0.

With seven minutes and 54 seconds to go in the third quarter, the game was interrupted after the home fans chanted insults against Red Star players, the club president and their families and then also pelted solid objects at the visiting team.

As a result, Red Star left the court, and Partizan players and the referees did the same a while later.

Partizan were leading 57-45.

After a one-hour break, Partizan fans refused to leave the stands to enable the game to be continued and, according to unofficial sources, Partizan refused to play without their supporters.

Once the venue was emptied, Red Star players and the referees returned to the court.

In keeping with the official rules, the referees made the decision to abandon the game after the Partizan team failed to show up after 15 minutes.