The basketball players of Budućnost Voli opened the AdmiralBet ABA League playoffs in the right way - the "blues" defeated Mega 96:80 last night in Podgorica and took a 1:0 lead in the series.
The future was right from the start, they took a 12:0 lead, the advantage went up to 18 points, and there was not a single moment of drama.
"Congratulations to the players, I think the start of the game was one of the better this season in terms of focus. We were ready for what was ahead of us and played a good game, with some downs, which is normal. This especially applies to the first half, in which the defense was at a good level, and the offense was quite smart, we knew what we wanted. We fell a little in the third quarter, but overall we played a good game and deserved to win," said Budućnost coach Andrej Žakelj after the match.
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The second game is on Friday in Belgrade.
"It won't mean anything if we relax now, and that should not be an option. Next comes the analysis and preparation for the next game, we have to stay grounded and focused. That we do some things better in the second game than in this one," Žakelj emphasized.
McKinley Wright missed the game due to injury.
"We had several options to hide the second point guard, it happened that Drežnjak was on the ball. It's not easy for him to get into a situation like this, and I'm not happy with some things in defense, not so much in offense, since I expect much more from him there. The rest of the time, I don't care much about who did what in offense. We played as a team, we had 23 assists, and who gave and who didn't give points doesn't matter. I care about some other things that will happen in the next game," Žakelj explained.
The coach of Buducnost pointed out that he does not know when Wright will return to the field.
"I honestly don't know when he'll be back, we'll see what happens in the coming days. The injury wasn't that bad, but the reaction after the long plane ride back was like that. The situation is what it is. McKinley is gone, and he means a lot to us, so others will have to take over that role," Žakelj concluded.
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