PARIS - Former University of New Orleans guard Bo McCalebb and his
Serbian-side Partizan fell in overtime for the second game in a row,
dropping a 90-88 result to CSKA Moscow in the Euroleague third-place
game on Sunday night.
McCalebb scored 12 points, grabbed three rebuonds and dished out four assists for Partizan, but it was not enough to overcome a 32-point effort by CSKA's Trajan Langdon, who starred at Duke.
The former Privateer factored into forcing the extra period, connecting on a coast-to-coast lay-up in the final seconds of regulation. Partizan went ahead by four in overtime, but the Russian side CSKA came from behind for the win.
As he did in the semifinal, McCalebb had a chance to deliver a last-second win, but missed from the top of the key on a game-winning three-point attempt as CSKA earned third place to conclude the 2010 Euroleague season.
Partizan's Euroleague campaign has now come to a close with McCalebb awaiting selection of the All-Euroleague squad and a possible spot on an NBA summer league roster.
McCalebb Scores 21 Points, Serbian Squad Falls in Euroleague Final Four Semifinals
PARIS - On one of the basketball world's biggest stages, former
University of New Orleans guard Bo McCalebb scored a game-high 21
points, but it was not enough as his Serbian-based Partizan squad fell
83-80 in overtime to Olympiacos Piraeus on Friday night in the 2010
Euroleague Final Four semifinals.
With the loss, Partizan will face CSKA Moscow on Sunday at 11 a.m. Central Time on ESPN3.com. CSKA Moscow fell 64-54 to a Ricky Rubio led FC Barcelona squad.
Partizan led for much of the first half, but was forced to rally in the third quarter, scoring 12 of 17 points to enter the fourth quarter with the score tied at 52.
The fourth quarter was a close affair with a McCalebb go-ahead basket with 6.8 seconds left erased when former Atlanta Hawk and current Olympiacos player Josh Childress scored on a second chance opportunity with 2.3 seconds left to knot the score at 67-67. McCalebb's squad had one more attempt at the basket with the former Privateer guard's buzzer-beating shot off to win the game off the mark, forcing the extra period.
Olympiacos Piraeus scored 8 of 11 points from the onset of overtime to take a 75-70 lead. Partizan reached within two at 77-75 after McCalebb picked up an assist on a three-point play by Jan Vesley.
Three offensive rebounds in a row by Olympiacos Piraeus provided the Greek-based squad a chance to extend their lead and make it a two possession game.
An Aleksander Raskic three-pointer with 16.8 seconds left brought Partizan back within one before Milos Teodosic iced the game with two free throws with 9.5 seconds remaining. Partizan was unable to have much an opportunity down to the buzzer as Olympiacos Piraeus prevented such a chance by forcing free throws and not allowing a three-point shot until a last-second shot bounced off the rim.
McCalebb, an All-Euroleague candidate, entered the contest averaging 13.1 points and 3.4 assists per game for Partizan, who will play in their first Euroleague title game since 1992.
In the midst of his second year of professional basketball overseas, McCalebb played in 2008-09 with the Turkey-based squad Mersin Belediyesi. While with Mersin Belediyesi, he earned a spot in the 2009 Turkish All-Star Game and led the Turkish League in steals with 2.7 per game.
During his UNO career, McCalebb scored 2,679 points to rank as the top scorer in both UNO and Sun Belt Conference history. At the conclusion of his playing career on the Lakefront, he ranked No. 21 in NCAA Division I history in career points scored.
McCalebb, Serbian Squad Play Euroleague Final Four Semifinal Friday
PARIS - Former University of New Orleans basketball star Bo McCalebb will lead his Serbian-based Partizan Belgrade team in a semifinal contest against Olympiacos Piraeus in the 2010 Euroleague Basketball Final Four on Friday.
The game, which will be aired Friday at 4 p.m. New Orleans time on NBA TV (Cox 325, DirecTV 216 and Dish Network 402/560), will represent an opportunity for McCalebb's Partizan squad to reach the Euroleague title game for the first time since 1992 where they would face either Regal FC Barcelona or CSKA Moscow at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Friday's semifinal is the third this season between Partizan and Olympiacos Piraeus in the Euroleague, which features the top teams from 18 different countries within Europe.
The home team has prevailed in the previous two encounters with McCalebb scoring 19 points in a 86-80 win over the squad from Greece on Nov. 26, 2009 and 14 points in a 81-60 losing effort on Jan. 13, 2010.
An All-Euroleague candidate according to the local media, McCalebb leads the Dusko Vjuosevic-coached team in points (13.1) and assists (3.4) in Euroleague competition.
Since joining the squad in October, the guard has helped lift the team to the NLB League Championship and the Serbian National Cup. McCalebb's teammates on both championship winning squads include fellow All-Euroleague candidate Aleks Maric and former Mississippi State standout Lawrence Roberts.
To help preview this weekend's Euroleague Final Four, SLAM Magazine writer Aggrey Sam did a feature on McCalebb, sharing his story from prep competition at O. Perry Walker High School in New Orleans to his arrival at UNO and his journey to Europe.
In the midst of his second year of professional basketball overseas, McCalebb played in 2008-09 with the Turkey-based squad Mersin Belediyesi. While with Mersin Belediyesi, he earned a spot in the 2009 Turkish All-Star Game and led the Turkish League in steals with 2.7 per game.
During his UNO career, McCalebb scored 2,679 points to rank as the top scorer in both UNO and Sun Belt Conference history. At the conclusion of his playing career on the Lakefront, he ranked No. 21 in NCAA Division I history in career points scored.
