Coach Milanovic Guides Partizan 1953 to Historic Win in Zagreb on His Debut

Partizan 1953 has officially kicked off its 2026-27 WABA League campaign in grand style, securing a historic first-ever away victory against Tresnjevka 2009 in Zagreb with an authoritative 80-54 triumph.

Entering the match with a troubling 0-3 historical away record in the Croatian capital, the black-and-whites completely rewrote the narrative with a commanding performance on the Pescenica floor, masterfully led by head coach Milan Milanovic in his regional debut.
Tresnjevka’s Karolina Skare opened the scoring, but the hosts would enjoy only one lead all evening. Partizan 1953 immediately signaled their intent to break the negative tradition, responding with a scorching 9-0 run led by Dragana Gobeljic and Jessica Timmons. Tresnjevka 2009 fought back and closed the gap to just one point (13-14) in the 9th minute, but from then on Partizan 1953 took over. The Belgrade club unleashed a devastating 11-0 run in just two minutes to pull ahead 25-13, and by the middle of the second quarter, they had extended the margin to an insurmountable 43-19.
The visitors dominated the stat sheet, shooting an efficient 54% from the field and out-rebounding the hosts 42-33. Dragana Gobeljic and Izabel Varejão led the scoring with 16 points each, and Varejão put on a perfect shooting clinic (5-for-5 2P, 1-for-2 3P, 3-for-3 FT). Marta Jovanovic contributed 13 points, while Jessica Timmons stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Nina Novak led Tresnjevka 2009 with 11 points; Karolina Skare had 10 points and 8 rebounds; and Katarina Mihalj scored 10 points.

2026-27 WABA League – Group B

Wednesday, October 21

Tresnjevka 2009-Partizan 1953 54-80 (13-22, 15-26, 9-20, 17-12)   FULL STATS   FULL GAME VIDEO   GALLERY

Dean Nemec, Head Coach of Tresnjevka 2009:

Lea Marsic, Tresnjevka 2009:

Milan Milanovic, Head Coach of Partizan 1953:

Foto: Vektor Media