After the first round of the Eurocup, Buducnost Voli are in fourth place in the standings with a record of six wins and three losses. Turk Telekom has an identical record as the "blues", having defeated the Montenegrin champion in Ankara (79:72) in the third round.
After that defeat to Turk Telekom, Andrej Žakelj's team has made a five-game winning streak in the Eurocup. Besiktas, who lost in Podgorica (82:79) in the sixth round, are also in that streak, and they currently have one more win than Buducnost in second place. Burg is at the top, having defeated the "blues" in the previous round (88:73) and ended their five-game winning streak. Burg is the leader in the standings with only one loss after nine rounds.
And the opportunity to return to winning ways in European competition for Budućnost Voli is tomorrow night (19). The London Lions, who are 4-5, and who the "blues" convincingly defeated in London at the season opener, when it was (86:59), will be coming to the "Mtel Morača Hall" in the 10th round.
In the previous round against Burg, Buducnost played a good first quarter, after which everything went in the hands of the French team.
"We have to play better than in the last Eurocup game, with more focus and toughness. London is playing much better than at the beginning of the season, they brought in three new players and that makes them a much stronger team than before. They are an athletic team, they play very aggressively and tough - we have to be ready for that," said Budućnost coach Andrej Žakelj in the match announcement.
Buducnost played their last match in Podgorica on November 18th against Ulm.
"We are playing in front of our audience, I hope for the support of the fans, but it is up to us to respond with a solid game. It is necessary to know how to react in every situation - focus, energy and jumping game will be key. We need to play our game in attack, with a lot of running and self-confidence," explained the coach of the "blues".
Yogi Ferrell emphasizes that he and his teammates must impose their energy from the start.
"I expect a very demanding and intense game. They play aggressive defense, exert constant pressure and run in both directions, so we have to respond with energy from the very beginning. We must not allow them to impose their rhythm. We have to make every attack difficult for them and only then do we have a great chance of winning," said Ferel.
Defense will play a major role, the American basketball player points out.
"They are a team that plays very well together, they move the ball quickly and they score points easily. That's why we have to be tough, put pressure on them and trust each other on defense," concluded Ferrell.
Bonus video:
