with textbook team basketball. 🏀#ABAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/9q2L8oG5GV

— AdmiralBet ABA League (@ABA_League) June 1, 2025

Nemanja Nedović drills the triple to beat the clock and send @kkcrvenazvezda into halftime with the lead. 🎯#ABAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Xmia3RYlw1

— AdmiralBet ABA League (@ABA_League) June 1, 2025

In the second half, Buducnost’s offense gained a new dimension as fully came to life. Still, stepped up at the right moment, allowing the red-and-whites to keep their lead. With Rasheed Sulaimon on one side and on the other providing no contribution, both offenses struggled, and neither team managed to pull away. The quarter ended in that kind of rhythm, with Buducnost leading 63-60 going into the final 10 minutes.

It was a real back-and-forth at the start of the final quarter. Sulaimon finally managed to score, but Crvena Zvezda began to exploit Petrusev under the rim, so the winner still couldn’t be predicted. Points were hard to come by when they were needed most, and both teams went through a stretch of poor offensive plays. However, it was the red-and-whites who stood out with a series of mistakes in just a few minutes. Sfairopoulos was looking for a rested player on the bench and found one in Canaan, who ended a long scoring drought with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two with three minutes left.

Nervousness crept into the hands of the home players, who missed several long-range shots in a row, and  punished that with a cold-blooded three-pointer to take the lead, forcing Zakelj to call a timeout. Budućnost scored immediately after the break to regain the lead and followed it up with solid defense, but then Wright dribbled the ball off his own leg, gifting possession to the opponent. However, Canaan did the same, and the home team had the ball and control with 25 seconds left. Wright was fouled and made only one of two free throws, after which Sfairopoulos called a timeout to draw up a play — either for overtime or a spot in the final.

The final play looked disorganized—both Nedovic and Petrusev passed up shot opportunities—but out of nowhere, Dobric appeared alone under the basket and scored with seven seconds left, giving the opponent one last possession to reach the final. Wright charged toward the rim and, in a heart-stopping finish, hit a three-pointer over two defenders in the final second to send his team to the final.

In the winning team, Wright was the top scorer with 28 points, followed by Ferrell with 10. Crvena Zvezda was led by dos Santos with 16 points, while Nedovic added 14.

Buducnost will face Partizan in the final.