A lot of effort, hardship, and suffering had to be put in and endured by the Buducnost Voli basketball players in order to do what they "had to" do - defeat Litkabelis in the 14th round of the Eurocup, especially after the shock defeat to Panionios in Greece the previous week.
They also had to wake up, because after the second quarter in which the "blues" were just chasing the minus, and went into the break with minus six, coach Andrej Žakelj cried out:
"We are not here, we are not here! We are not aggressive, we are not in contact - they are twice as aggressive as us. If we don't change that, we will be in trouble."
"Dousing them with cold water" at halftime only bore fruit at the end of the third quarter, when the Podgorica team finally took control.
By then, the Lithuanians had an eight-point lead at the start of the second half.
Canadian Aimak was an unsolvable enigma under the Buducnost basket, he bought all the scraps, and when the "flow" towards the center from Vancouver was prevented, with precision and certainty in the attack, everything turned for the better.
Two three-pointers by the brilliant Tanasković brought the Podgorica team within a point of the guests, three minutes before the end of the third quarter, and four consecutive points by Sulajmon brought the team's first lead since the end of the first period - 66:65, then 68:65.
A technical foul by the Lithuanian bench followed, Megi was safe from the penalty line, Thompson scored, and the "blues" were up six points - 71:65.
However, it wasn't over yet, the Lithuanians again came close to minus one at the beginning of the last quarter - Megi's three-pointer was answered by Mutić, also with a three-pointer, hinting at an uncertain ending.
Ferel's three-pointer with six minutes left to go for a plus three should have been the momentum for the finish, and it was - Butej pulled one back and the "blues" went into the final five minutes with a plus six.
And they only breathed a sigh of relief with 2,42 left, when Nikola Tanasković's fourth three-pointer, and 20th point of the match, took Buducnost to plus eight.
Butej put the point with two three-pointers for +3 - 90:77, two minutes before the end, and Sulaimon fought in the last seconds to make the ultimate difference the biggest - 95:81.
Nikola Tanaskovic had a brilliant game, with four three-pointers for 20 points, along with four rebounds and two assists, and the most efficient player in the match was Butej, who "worked" in the first and last quarter tonight - 23 points.
They were followed by Sulajmon with 17, and Yogi Ferrell also had incredible statistics, only two rebounds short of a triple-double, as he was in double figures in points and assists (10 each).
For Lietkabelis, Ajmak and Danusevičius each scored 19 points, while Flowers finished the match with 13.
Buducnost remains third in the standings and enters the remaining four rounds with confidence, although they now face one of the toughest away games - against Besiktas in Istanbul.
Bonus video:
