While “U” Cluj was winning in Giulesti, over 500 black and white fans were in another European capital
Article by David Istrate – Published Saturday, January 31, 2026 23:03 / Updated Saturday, January 31, 2026 23:05
On Saturday, January 31, U-BT Cluj-Napoca was defeated by Partizan Belgrade with the score of 90-79, in a match of the first phase of the Adriatic League. The Romanian champion was accompanied in the capital of Serbia by 521 fans of the “students.
Saturday was a crowded evening for the supporters of “U” Cluj, who had a choice between a trip to Bucharest, for the duel with FC Rapid, won 2-0and a trip to Belgrade, where U-BT Cluj-Napoca played against Partizan in the Adriatic League.
U-BT Cluj-Napoca, supported by 521 fans in the away game from Belgrade
In the middle of this week, Mihai Silvășan's students played in Manresa, a city located north of Barcelona, and were supported by a large gallery throughout the duration of a game they lost in the final seconds: 101-99.
For Black and White fans it was just a warm-up for what was to come at the end of the week. U-BT Cluj-Napoca was to play, for the first time, in the Belgrade Arena, the hall used by both Partizan and Steaua Roșie, especially for Euroleague matches.
The interest of Cluj supporters for the confrontation with Partizan Belgrade was huge, and the organizers made 700 tickets available to them. More than 500 U-BT supporters made the trip to the capital of Serbia and managed to dominate the sound backgroundthe hosts' fans not being too interested in the duel with the band from Cluj-Napoca.
The anthem “Glory to the students” was heard extremely well both at the start of the match and at the end, and the fans enthusiastically sang and performed in the 20,000+ seater arena.
Andi Moisescu, journalist, filmmaker and famous TV presenter, was also present in Belgradesitting next to Branko Cuic, the executive director of U-BT, and Omer Tetik, the CEO of Banca Transilvania. Even though he is known as a fan of Rapid Bucharest, Moisescu was not in the capital of Romania, at the football match with “U” Cluj, but in the capital of Serbia, at the derby with Partizan.
“U” won in the stands, Partizan prevailed on the field
On the field, Partizan Belgrade controlled the game, even if they had several absentees such as Duane Washington, Shake Milton or Vanja Marinkovic. U-BT had some good moments, led by Daron Russell, but there were also situations in which Silvășan's students committed minor mistakes and allowed their opponents to shoot unhindered from a distance or penetrate towards the basket.
In the end, the hosts prevailed 90-79, led by Dylan Osetkowski (20 points), Sterling Brown (15 points), Tonye Jekiri (12 points) and Cam Payne and Isaac Bonga with 10 points each.
On the other side, Daron Russell (19 points), Trey Woodbury (10 points) and Mitch Creek (10 points) stood out.
At the end of the game, U-BT fans sang the famous anthem once more and then sang along with the players and staff.
With a record of 9 wins and 6 losses, U-BT Cluj-Napoca remains in 3rd place in group A of the ABA league. “Students” are in a complicated time, losing 6 of their last 7 matches.
For U-BT, two more away duels follow, with Hapoel Jerusalem and Borac Cacak, after which they will return to BTarena for the crucial match with Aris Thessaloniki in the BKT EuroCup.
Mihai Silvășan, message for fans: “Hats off to them”
Firstly congratulations to the Partizan team, they were the better team tonight. We tried to fight and I think we did that in many moments of the game.
Secondly, I am very grateful and want to thank our fans for the support they have shown us. They came in huge numbers to see us play against a Euroleague team, so hats off to them. I'm sorry we couldn't fight better and be closer to winning the game. They have been great and I am very happy for the support they have given us.
About the game, I made too many mistakes. We had too many loose balls. It's hard to win against Partizan, with the quality players they have, when you have 21 turnovers. We also allowed too many offensive rebounds, especially in the second quarter when they had 8. That was the story of the game.
We're not in the best situation right now, we've got a lot of away games and a lot of defeats lately, but I think we've got a good group of lads, with character, and it's important to stick together and move forward. We are not dead, we are not eliminated from any competition we play in and we have to fight for our chances until the end
– Mihai Silvășan, coach of U-BT Cluj-Napocaaccording to the team's official website
