The winners of eight titles in Europe’s elite club competition silenced a fervent 20,000 home crowd in the Serbian capital after weathering two Red Star onslaughts in the opening two quarters.
Scoreless in the first half, Rodriguez turned on the heat in the second to finish with 12 points while Fernandez netted 11 of his 15 in the third quarter, as both players nailed crucial three-pointers during a 14-0 run.
They were helped by experienced centre Felipe Reyes who netted 13 points and kept his towering opponent Boban Marjanovic at bay, forcing Red Star’s guards to take a barrage of difficult long-range shots.
Trailing by 15 points in the closing stages, Red Star launched a futile late rally but were nevertheless treated to a standing ovation by their fans, many of whom had queued up for hours in freezing weather to get the tickets.
(Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic, editing by Gene Cherry)
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