The first match in history between Vienna basketball players and Buducnost Voli was, as expected, in blue and white colors.
Andrej Žakelj's team won 83:78 in the 4th round of the AdmiralBet ABA League, in a match in which they controlled things, but could have ended the story of the winner much earlier.
"It was a tough match and we knew it would be like that, because Vienna plays good basketball, with a lot of energy and an offensively oriented system, and it wasn't easy to play here," said Andrej Žakelj, coach of Buducnost, at the press conference.
His guys went up to plus 14 in the first half, mostly having a safe advantage, but in the finish they allowed their rival to get to 73:70.
"During the first half, we played 15 minutes of good basketball, we were in the lead, but then we made a few very stupid mistakes, especially in attack where we lost the ball and allowed our rival to come back into the match and fight for the win. Still, it is important for us - it is why we came here and we will have to continue," Žakelj is clear.
Austrian journalists were interested in how his team was preparing for Vienna.
"We knew some of the players from before, we watched match footage and generally knew what to expect and in the end we were convinced that Vienna was a good team."
The Slovenian expert believes that his team should have resolved the issue of the winner earlier.
"We should have gone from a 12 or 14 point lead to 15 or 20, not going back to seven. We have to fix that, to be better. In the end, the most important thing is that we practically kept the double-digit lead until the end," Žakelj emphasized and concluded with a message.
"Thank you to the host for the wonderful hospitality during the first match between Vienna and Buducnost in history."
Bonus video:
