The second half against the London Lions in the EuroCup was the path that Buducnost Voli should take for the rest of the season. The Blues dominated the second 20 minutes against the team from the Island, not allowing their opponents a chance to threaten them, and reacted in the right way after their defeat to Burgos in the same competition.
And after the international break and two matches in the Eurocup, the Montenegrin champion will face a match in the AdmiralBet ABA League. Buducnost was free in the previous round of the regional competition, and tomorrow, at an unusual time (13 pm), they will play against Ilirija in Ljubljana.
Buducnost hosted Ilija exactly a month ago at the "Mtel Dvorana Morača". Then the "blues" were not at their best in the first half, they were ten points down at one point (26:16), but they played well in the second half and recorded a victory.
Unlike that match, Ilirija was left without Ognjen Jaramaz, who moved to Cedevita-Olimpija, and yesterday announced that it had hired center Boban Marjanović, who returned to regional basketball after ten years.
"I think Ilirija has shown that it can play well, especially on its home field. They also beat Spartak and Zadar at home. It is certainly a team that must be taken seriously and that is what I expect from the players – a serious approach, maximum focus, toughness and aggression. We recently played against them, so we know what to expect. It is up to us to show that on the field and continue in a winning rhythm," said Budućnost coach Andrej Žakelj.
Rashid Sulajmon points out that Ilirija plays fast, and that this will be an opportunity for Buducnost to work on some things in defense.
"They are a very fast team and have several quality individuals. They play at a high pace and I think that this game will be a good opportunity for us to work on transition defense and further improve in that segment. If we succeed in that, we can completely match them," Sulajmon pointed out.
The "Blues" want them to wonder, to prevent their rival from playing in transition.
"I hope we can control the tempo. They are extremely good in transition, so it is important for us to choose good shots on offense and force them to play against our set defense," concluded Sulajmon.
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