Preparations for the new season lasted a little over a month, almost the entire team was changed, and on Tuesday (20.30:XNUMX p.m.) Mornara's basketball players will have their first official match.
The Montenegrin representative will play in Antalya, in the quarter-finals of one of the three qualifying tournaments for the FIBA Champions League, against the Spanish Obradoiro.
During the transfer period, the sailor made a lot of changes, and Antabija Waller, Jacoby Boykins, Džamal Johnson, Dwight Murray, Makol Mavijen, Milić Starovlah, Aleks Gavrilović and Strahinja Jovanović arrived in Bar. The contracts of captain Nemanja Vranješ and Milija Miković were extended. Therefore, coach Mihailo Pavićević points out that the team is still in the getting-to-know-you phase.
"We are still in the phase of familiarization and getting used to it. To get a picture of what players I can expect from them, and for them to see what the requirements are, what our concept is. It will take time. Time is not our ally, as far as qualifications are concerned. When it comes to Admiralbet ABA League - we have the first two games against Partizan and Budućnost, the third against Zadar, those are the three weeks we will have available to work in. We all repeat the same phrases in the preparation period - we are extremely satisfied, the working atmosphere is phenomenal, everything is phenomenal. I can say the same thing. But it's a preparatory period. We'll see when the games start - training is one thing, and what we're preparing for, that is, the games, is something completely different," Pavićević said.
If he makes a surprise and defeats the Spanish team, Mornar will play in the semi-finals with the better of the duel between the Polish Legia and the winner of the pre-qualification match Gladiators (Great Britain) - Friborg (Switzerland). Yesterday, at the start of the Spanish Endesa League, Obradoiro beat Palencia (84:64).
"I am satisfied with the atmosphere at training, togetherness, I would say based on the first impressions that we have chosen the right guys and that is the most important thing. We will see in the playing part how well anyone can meet our demands. If we manage to set everything right, then we will all be satisfied," said Pavićević.
Nemanja Vranješ will play in Mornar for the seventh season in a row. The captain points out that the match against Obradoiro is a real opportunity for the team to see where it is at the moment.
"The team is relatively new, there are a lot of new players. It is known that we started the preparation period later. We have a good period of training and playing, I think the dice are in line. It is a real opportunity to see where we are at the moment against Obradoiro. difficult game for us, but we need such matches to see what we need to fix and improve. I think that game will come in handy before the start of the ABA League," said Vranješ.
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