It would have been the perfect ending: Marko Guduric’s three-point step-back shot to win the game. Unfortunately, it end end up short and allowed Partizan to escape with a 80-78 win. Olimpia came back from twenty points behind in the third quarter, it fought hard and never gave up, responding to the extreme physicality that Partizan put on the court right from the first minute. At some point Olimpia struggled it and certainly had a soft approach in the third quarter. However, it showed great pride, character, heart and did not give up for a moment to the point of turning the game around late and earning the shot to win the game despite losing Shavon Shields to an injury after an amazing performance, one of the best on both sides of the ball. Down by five in the closing minutes, Olimpia had four possessions to get closer but lacked a bit of luck. A three by Quinn Ellis was canceled because he had his heel on the sideline. But even with a seven-point deficit, Olimpia believed the point of putting the ball to win the game in Guduric’s hands. Too bad the shot didn’t find the net. Guduric finished the game with 12 points and eight assists; Shields had 21 points; Armoni Brooks was a killer off the bench making four threes all of the game when they were really needed. And finally Bolmaro was all over the floor again. “At times, we struggled against their physicality, Partizan could play five great athletes at the same time. But in the second half our offense was much fast we, we moved the ball quicker and better creating better shots while the defense raised its level. We even earned ourselves the chance to win the game. We came up short but I’m very proud of the way we competed. I also believed that the closing possessions of the first half have a lot to do with the final score. We missed shots and we let them build too big a margin,” Coach Ettore Messina said at the end.