Animam erupts for 29-12 as Serbian dynasty Crvena destroys Radnicki

Four-time reigning Women’s Basketball League of Serbia champion ZKK Crvena zvezda thoroughly outclassed Jack Animam and ZKK Radnicki Kragujevac, 104-66, at the Jazero Hall in Kragujevac, Serbia on Saturday, October 9 (Sunday, October 10, Manila time).

Despite the wire-to-wire beatdown, the Filipina star center went down swinging in just her second game as a pro with another monster double-double of 29 points and 12 rebounds to go with 6 assists, a steal, and a block on an efficient 12-of-17 clip.

While her numbers are already great on paper, this performance was especially noteworthy as she churned it out against an absolute Serbian dynasty that owns 32 national championships, half the available titles in the country’s pro basketball history.

Animam almost single-handedly kept her team competitive at just a 4-point deficit after the first quarter, 21-25, and just kept going by dropping 20 of her 29 total points by halftime despite Crvena running away for good with a 59-38 gap.

Unfazed by the rapidly rising Crvena lead down the stretch, the former National University star just continued attacking in the paint and from mid-range until she was finally pulled from the game with 3:15 left in regulation.

Like Animam, Crvena never slacked off as well amid the clear blowout, and eventually peaked with a 38-point lead with 6 ticks left off a Marija Avlijas jumper to set the final score.

Team captain Nevena Naumcev led the balanced winning charge with 20 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three in an efficient 12-minute run, while four other players scored in double-digits, led by Masa Jankovic’s 14-marker, 8-rebound blitz in just 20 minutes.

Minela Mehovic and Milica Indic backstopped Animam, with 14 and 11 points, respectively, but their combined performances were just nowhere near enough to even threaten the 32-time champs.

Radnicki will get their shot at redemption after a week, as they next face Kraljevo on Saturday, October 16.

The Scores

Crvena 104 – Naumcev 20, Jankovic 14, Nedeljkov 13, Schwagmeyer 12, Avlijas 11, Milanovic 8, Zecevic 7, Miseljic 7, Katanic 6, Kovacevic 2, Corto 2, Jovanovic 2.

Radnicki 66 – Animam 29, Mehovic 14, Indic 11, Popludijevic 6, Vukovic 4, Glomazic 2, Stojanovic 0, Nikolic 0, Milinkovic 0, Miletic 0.

Quarters: 25-21, 59-38, 87-54, 104-66.

– Rappler.com