Pero Antic and the EuroLeague Title Race: Three Red-White Clubs and the Ghost of Željko Obradović

On November 14, 2026, at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the ABA League, a former basketball player stood on a prestigious stage with a microphone in hand. He was not a coach, not a judge, but a man who had just completed his term as president of the North Macedonia Basketball Federation — Pero Antic, 42 years old, a three-time EuroLeague champion. And he had just publicly chosen three teams he loved most to lift the championship trophy this season: Olympiacos, Crvena Zvezda (Red Star), and Fenerbahce.

That was not a transfer news. That was not a tactical analysis. That was a speech full of emotions, framed in the elegant suit of a sports official, but inside was a heart that had beaten to the rhythm of European basketball for 13 years.

I have been following Pero Antic since he was a young player for Crvena Zvezda in 2026. Now, as a sports radio host specializing in the transfer market, I understand that a statement like this is not simply about emotions — it is a strategic signal from a man sitting in the president's chair of a federation located in the heart of the Balkan basketball corridor.

Thirty touches of the ball by a player can tell an entire story. But three EuroLeague championship titles by Antic — with two different clubs — tells even more. That is proof that he was an indispensable link in championship-winning machines at the highest level.

The spreadsheet never lies — only those too lazy to read it deceive themselves.

To understand why Antic's speech was noteworthy, first place him correctly on the achievement map. Antic won the EuroLeague three times: twice with Olympiacos in 2026 and 2026, and once with Fenerbahce in 2026. These are not numbers for an ordinary rotation player. These are numbers for someone who knew how to adapt to two different tactical systems, two different locker room cultures, and two different competitive environments.

Olympiacos under coach Georgios Bartzokas was a team built around defensive intensity and organized half-court offense. Fenerbahce under Željko Obradović — the coach Antic would later mention — was a machine assembled with Swiss watch precision, where every player had to understand their role almost perfectly. Antic didn't just survive in both systems — he thrived in both.

Crvena Zvezda, the club where Antic began his professional career in 2026 and returned to end it in the 2026-18 season, was the club not included in his EuroLeague championship list. Red Star has never lifted the EuroLeague trophy in the modern era. But Antic still placed them alongside Olympiacos and Fenerbahce in his speech. That is the story of an emotional bond that transcends statistics.

Red and white — that is not just a jersey color. It is an identity.

In the Balkan basketball community, jersey color represents not just a club. It represents a value system, a history, and a worldview. Olympiacos with red and white, Crvena Zvezda (full name: Red Star Basketball Club) also wears red and white, Fenerbahce with yellow and navy — the difference in jersey colors is also a difference in identity.

When Antic said he "cannot decide between these three teams," that was not indecision. That was divided loyalty, a way of framing the issue that anyone who has ever loved a team would understand. But here is why this statement deserves closer analysis: Antic is sitting in the president's chair of the North Macedonia Basketball Federation. A national sports official should not favor any club — that is a basic principle of sports governance.

So why did he still say it? The answer lies in the context: this was the ABA League anniversary celebration, an event where North Macedonia is part of the ecosystem. Antic was not speaking as federation president — he was speaking as a former player attending a commemorative event. This distinction is crucial, and it shows Antic understands the boundary between official duty and personal emotions.

Courtois, Real Madrid and the 30-line spreadsheet — that first summer taught me that data is never innocent.

The lesson from the summer of 2026 remains valuable: a public statement is never simply a statement. It carries with it a relationship system, a network of expectations, and a fan base that is listening.

But more important than the three teams Antic chose is the team he did not choose: Panathinaikos.

Panathinaikos is Greece's biggest club, the eternal rival of Olympiacos in the matchup dubbed the "El Clasico" of European basketball. For someone who once played for Olympiacos, not mentioning Panathinaikos in his championship contenders list is understandable emotionally. But here is why this is noteworthy: immediately after, Antic mentioned Željko Obradović's return to Panathinaikos, saying "the derbies will be more special than ever."

Željko Obradović — the greatest coach in European basketball history, who has won the EuroLeague five times with three different clubs — has returned to Panathinaikos after more than a decade of absence. He previously coached Panathinaikos from 2026 to 2026, winning five EuroLeague titles during that period. This return is not an ordinary transfer news — it is a statement of ambition from a club seeking to reclaim its pinnacle status.

Antic, a former Olympiacos player, acknowledged this. He said the Greek derbies will be special — not because Panathinaikos will win the championship, but because Obradović has returned. That is an acknowledgment from someone with the right to say it: someone who has faced Obradović as a player, someone who understands the value of a legendary coach in the locker room.

Havertz's 21 touches at Wembley — enough to know that goals are just the ending of the story.

For those following European basketball, Obradović's return to Panathinaikos is one of the most significant pieces of news this season. And Antic, despite maintaining a neutral stance as federation president, did not hide his excitement.

This reveals something important: in European basketball, the boundary between personal emotions and professional analysis is much thinner than in other major leagues. A former player like Antic cannot — and should not — hide his past. That is part of what gives the league its identity.

The ABA League is entering its 25th year. This is a league I have been following since my days as a student at Columbia, when matches between Crvena Zvezda and Partizan Belgrade were broadcast live on sports channels at 2 AM New York time. I still woke up to watch — not because I was betting, but because I understood that these Belgrade derbies were part of basketball's world heritage.

The league has produced the finest players in European basketball over two decades. Niko Mirotić, Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić — all have started or passed through the ABA League ecosystem. Crvena Zvezda, being included by Antic in the EuroLeague championship contenders list, represents a major step forward for Serbian and Adriatic basketball on the European map.

Over the past 25 years, the ABA League has witnessed the rise and fall of many generations of players. But what hasn't changed is the quality of the derbies — whether it's Belgrade, Athens, or Split. And that is also why Antic's speech carries significance beyond a simple interview.

Today's shocking news is always a forecast written three years ago.

If I look at my spreadsheet on EuroLeague championship contenders over the past three seasons, a pattern has emerged: Olympiacos and Fenerbahce's dominance is being challenged by teams once considered "underdogs." Real Madrid won in 2026. Anadolu Efes surprised everyone in 2026 and 2026. Crvena Zvezda reached the Final Four in 2026 — the first time in many years a team from the ABA League achieved that.

Antic is not the first to notice this. But he is the first to say it publicly from the position of a former champion and a national sports official. And in a market where transfer rumors are overhyped daily, an emotionally framed statement within historical context is worth much more than meaningless transfer gossip.

What is noteworthy is that Antic did not mention Real Madrid — the team that won the EuroLeague in 2026 and remains one of the top contenders. This can be explained by the fact that he never played for Real Madrid, so there is no emotional connection to this club. In the spreadsheet of someone whose jersey color determines the contenders list, Real Madrid is not in the equation.

This is the tactical blind spot that many analysts often overlook: emotions are not just a secondary factor in European basketball, they are the main driving force. An Olympiacos fan will never acknowledge Crvena Zvezda as a worthy team — but Antic, with his history of playing for both, can stand in a neutral position without losing his identity.

That is the art of balance in Balkan basketball.

Crvena Zvezda is on track to reach the EuroLeague Final Four for the second consecutive year. Head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos has built a roster based on defensive intensity and team basketball — no brightest star, but incredible team cohesion. This is a model many clubs with limited budgets want to emulate.

But can Red Star win the EuroLeague? This is a question I cannot answer with data — because the spreadsheet cannot measure the emotional factor of a team playing at home at Aleksandar Nikolić arena, in front of 18,000 passionate fans. That is a factor no algorithm can calculate.

Numbers do not interrupt the narrative — they tell a different story, and rarely wrong.

Returning to the core question: does Antic's speech mean anything for this season's EuroLeague championship race?

The short answer: yes, but not in the way many think. This is not a prediction — this is a statement of identity. Antic is saying: "I once belonged to the red-white world, and I cannot forget that."

In a season where the EuroLeague is witnessing Željko Obradović's return to Panathinaikos, the competition between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos will determine the landscape of Greek basketball. Fenerbahce, under new coaching staff, is seeking to reclaim its pinnacle status. And Crvena Zvezda — the team many still consider an "underdog" — is entering the season with the goal of reaching the Final Four for the second consecutive year.

Thirty transfers in one summer, each line a promise — I still keep them for comparison. And from my experience following matches over nine years, I recognize a pattern: emotionally framed statements from people with histories at multiple clubs often contain signals that the market has not yet reflected.

Antic chose Olympiacos, Crvena Zvezda, and Fenerbahce — three teams with three different jersey colors, but all sharing one thing in common: all have lifted the EuroLeague trophy in the past decade. This is not coincidence — it is the intuition of a former champion, framed in memories and emotions.

And in a season where the 2026-25 EuroLeague is predicted to be one of the most fiercely competitive in history, Antic's words may not change the landscape — but they remind us that basketball, ultimately, is not just about data and tactics. It is also about people, about memories, and about the jersey colors we have loved since childhood.

On the night of November 14, 2026, at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the ABA League, Pero Antic did not just choose three teams to lift the trophy. He told his own story — a story that began in Belgrade, passed through Piraeus and Istanbul, and returned to Belgrade once more. And in that journey, he left footprints on three pieces of land that were European champions.

That is the legacy of a player. And that is also why his words deserve to be heard — not because they are right, but because they come from someone who has lived the stories he tells.