BELGRADE (Kosarkaska Liga Srbije) – Partizan Belgrade and Hemofarm Stada crushed Crvena Zvezda and Radnicki respectively as the Serbian League playoffs semi-finals got underway on Monday.

Bo McCalebb scored 20 points as Partizan dispatched Crvena Zvezda 94-73 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

The visitors trailed 43-41 at halftime but were then outscored 27-14 in the pivotal third quarter as the home side blew the game wide open and never looked back.

Aleksander Radic had 15 points and four assists and Slavko Vranes proved a force inside with eight points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots.

Marko Keselj tallied a team-best 16 for Crvena Zvezda and Nemanja Bjelica filled the stat sheet with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Meanwhile, Hemofarm crushed Radnicki 114-77 in a game that was never close as the hosts jumped out to a 29-19 lead at the end of the first quarter and cruised the rest of the way.

Milos Borisov had a game-high 21 points to lead six players in double digits for the Vrsac outfit. Kyle Hill finished with 15, Rasko Katic added 14, Milan Macvan and Stevan Markovic contributed a dozen each and Bojan Krstovic chipped in with 11.

Vukasin Aleksic had 14 to pace Radnicki.

Both series resume on Wednesday.

FIBA