The victories over Spartak and Zadar in "Morača", along with the defeat of Cibona in Zagreb, were the introduction to the first real challenge for the basketball players of SC Derby this season.
Partizan is coming to the capital of Montenegro, a team that "students" have been known to surprise in recent years (the triumph in Belgrade in the first match of the quarterfinals of the AdmiralBet ABA League in the 2022/23 season, but also in the Supercup final is memorable) and which is visiting less than 48 hours after the duel in Madrid with Real in the 2nd round of the Euroleague.
It is known, of course, that the "black and white" are the favorites in the match that starts today at 16 pm...
- A basketball holiday awaits us. A serious Euroleague team with a top coach is coming to us, and that in itself is a big challenge for our young team - said the coach of Derby Petar Mijović.
Derbi sees its chance.
- The match against Partizan is one of those from which both players and coaches come out better. I think we are in a good moment and mood. We have ambitions, we enter with the desire to play in the best possible way against an extra-quality opponent and to try to get the game into a flow that would make Partizan's job as difficult as possible - said Mijović.
Andrija Grbović believes that Partizan is the toughest possible rival.
- We are playing against a Euroleague team that changed the entire team compared to the previous season. Partizan is made up of good individuals and is well filled in every position. It is important for us to repeat the approach we showed in the match against Zadar and to go out on the floor with extra energy and focus - pointed out Grbović.
Along with Budućnost Voli and Mega, Partizan is the only team with all three victories so far in the regional competition. In the Euroleague, on the other hand, there are two defeats, and the visit to Podgorica comes before a double program in the European elite next season - duels with Bayern and Maccabi in Belgrade.
- We have to find strength for this upcoming busy schedule. We need to distribute the playing time, rest and see how the players who had problems against Real do, Vanja Marinkovic i Tyreek Jones, said the coach of Partizan Zeljko Obradovic.
Bonus video:
