Belgrade - Slovenian basketball club Cedevita Olimpija lost against Serbia's Crvena Zvezda 78:88 in Belgrade on Monday in what was the decisive third game of the semi-final of the regional first-tier ABA League. The Ljubljana-based club thus missed out on the three-match final where Crvena Zvezda will now play its city rival Partizan.

Crvena Zvezda, one of the best teams of the league and a EuroLeague contender, were dominant in all four quarters of the game, but Cedevita Olimpija still gave them a run for their money.

The Ljubljana team played a great second half of the second quarter and the beginning of the second half. A 15:0 run almost melted away Crvena Zvezda's lead from the 14th minute, but the Belgrade team, bolstered by the loud cheering of their fans, stepped up and maintained their lead until the end.

Cedevita Olimpija's top scorers were Yogi Ferrell with 25 points and Zoran Dragić with 21 points, but no other player of the club had a standout performance, while a line-up of eleven players of Crvena Zvezda scored points and seven players hit at least one three-pointer.

Crvena Zvezda will be now pursuing their sixth ABA title and third in a row in the final, which starts on Friday, while Partizan, the six-time champions of the competition, will be playing in the final for the first time since the 2012-2013 season.

Cedevita Olimpija last played in the semi-final of the ABA League in 2011, prior to the merger with Zagreb's Cedevita in 2019 when it was still named just Olimpija, and after today's elimination, they will now focus on the national championship final, where they are to face the Domžale-based Helios Suns. The first match will take place on the latter's homecourt on Wednesday.