The coronavirus caused the NLB Second ABA League to be played through "balloons" even after the end of the pandemic, so one of the youngest Montenegrin clubs only got to host a regional competition match this spring - namely the playoffs.
Podgorica basketball players welcome Zlatibor in the first match of the quarterfinals of the ABA 2 league playoffs - the match in "Bemax Arena" is scheduled for tomorrow at 20 p.m.
"We have played a large number of games at a high level and I think we are deservedly among the eight best teams. However, our wishes and ambitions do not end there, because now we face a new challenge," he said. Dragan Radovic, coach of Podgorica.
The Montenegrin representative finished the league part of the season in sixth place, while Zlatibor was third.
"This is a team that has always been at the top for the last three seasons, and two years ago was the champion of the ABA 2 league. Therefore, we are aware that a difficult double match awaits us. We are in a busy rhythm of games, both on the domestic stage and in ABA 2 league, which is why there was not much time for rest and analysis," added Radović.
All that will be no excuse for his boys…
"They are ready and impatiently waiting for the start of the quarterfinals. We have to be maximally concentrated in both matches, to give the best game this season and try to win the semifinals," stressed Radović.
The only match played between these two rivals in the current season belonged to Zlatibor, who won 90:68 in January.
"It is about an opponent who is first of all very well organized and managed, for a couple of years they have been the leader both in the domestic championship and in the ABA 2 league, which they have already won once. Looking at the composition of the team, it seems that they are the best this year", he believes Milutin Djukanovic, one of the most experienced in the Podgorica team.
The basketball player from Cetinje believes that the stands will be well filled.
"We are one of the youngest teams in the league, so it is important that we proved to ourselves that we can beat any of the favorites. We are hungry for success and I invite all basketball fans to come to the 'Bemax Arena' and enjoy quality basketball," Đukanović concluded. .
Podgorica defeated Zlatibor in the quarterfinals last season in Domžale.
"In the replay of last year's quarter-finals, we are playing against a very high-quality team. It is a young team, and excellent foreigners give them additional strength. In the league part, we played an interesting game in which we came back from a 15-point deficit and won by 20 points. It will not be easy for us , but we prepared tactically. The mitigating circumstance in a difficult schedule is that we are now psychologically relieved because we secured the third place in KLS. With any outcome, the match in Podgorica is only the first half and we will try to enter the second with the best possible result match at Zlatibor," said the coach of the Serbian team Strajin Nedović.
Zlatibor finished the regular season in third place with a score of 10-3.
"I think that our team has an extremely strong winning mentality with a lot of quality, which we showed in the previous matches in the domestic league. I hope that we managed to cool our heads, to rest so that we can prepare to beat Podgorica and move on," he said. basketball player from Zlatibor Ivan Smiljanic.
In the playoffs of the ABA 2 league, two games are played each, and at the end the goal difference decides. Montenegro is represented among the top eight by Sutjeska, which will welcome Vojvodina on Wednesday (18).
ABA 2, quarter finals
Tuesday
Helios - Spartak (18 p.m.)
Podgorica - Zlatibor (20h)
Wednesday
Sutjeska - Vojvodina (18 p.m.)
MZT - Široki (20h)
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