Buducnost Voli - Darušafaka: The battle for the master

Three days ago, the Buducnost Voli basketball players were so close to making a breakthrough that no one could even dream of, knocking down the very expensive Darussafaka in the middle of Istanbul in the first match of the Eurocup quarterfinals.

If Jajuan Johnson hadn't picked up that ball in the attack and allowed Scotty Wilbekin to score a three-pointer with the score 52:52, maybe Podgorica would have had a chance for the biggest success in the club's history on the international stage tonight. But, now that they have seen that they can threaten David Blatt's team, Aleksandar Džikić's men will certainly do their best to win the championship on Wednesday in the only city in the world that lies on two continents.

The second match of the quarter-finals will be played tonight at 19:XNUMX in Morača.

"Both teams were very well prepared in the first match and I expect the same approach during the second match. We will try to have the same energy and the same focus, because the opponent has the talent and experience to punish every mistake we make. In other words, we have to make the right decisions and to play aggressively and decisively," Džikić explained.

Nikola Ivanović, who three nights ago shared the role of Buducnosti's top scorer with Danilo Nikolic with 12 points, is still not thinking about the duel in the "Volkswagen Arena".

"We were close during our first meeting, it was a one-ball game. We know who are the players we should slow down, from start to finish. Our team is united, we fight as one, without hesitation," said the playmaker from Podgorica .

Buducnost is playing in the quarter-finals of the Eurocup for the third time, and so far has won and lost four times. She recorded her only triumph on March 20, 2012, when she defeated Valencia 75:71. The best performance in the team of then coach Dejan Radonjić was Bojan Dubljević, who with 15 points and eight rebounds convinced the leaders of the Spanish club to bring him that summer. Ivanovic was the youngest in the team, who was 18 years old, one month and a day when he scored nine baskets in less than 19 minutes against "Orange". Unfortunately, in the second leg, it was 85:63 for Valencia...

Blat: The future has deservedly arrived here

In 2014, David Blatt won the Euroleague with Maccabi, and now he will try to take the trophy in the second quality competition on the Old Continent. On the way, however, he has to skip the Future.

- In the playoffs, no two games are usually alike. Teams are adapting and looking for ways to fix something and change the balance. The first match was very tense, really competitive, but the overestimation of the shot was very low and everything can change for the second match. We will try to be ready, because Buducnost is a very good team and deservedly got here - emphasized the man who led the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to 2016 and reached the NBA finals, but lost it to Golden State with 4:2.