There have been losses this season, a total of eight in 28 games, some of them unexpected, but never have the Buducnost Voli basketball players been as helpless as they were in midweek in Istanbul.
The "Blue and Whites" were convincingly defeated by Besiktas (96:74) in a match that could have opened the door to the Eurocup quarterfinals for them, but there is no time for major analysis, as starting tomorrow (Saturday, 21pm) they will turn their attention to defending 1st place in the Admiralbet ABA League.
Bosnia is coming to "Morač", and Buducnost is promising a real reaction after the defeat in the largest Turkish city.
"We have a tough game ahead of us after the match with Besiktas and it's up to us to show our reaction. We need to focus more on our game, approach and toughness and that will be the focus in this match as well," said Andrej Žakelj, coach of Buducnost.
Jerry Butsiel had a similar message.
"After the last match in the Eurocup, we want to show a reaction. The ABA League is important to us and the focus is on the fight for first place," the center of the Podgorica team is clear.
The giant from Sarajevo is back in the regional league after a difficult few years, but in the first match in "Zetra" they didn't have many chances against Budućnost. Andrej Žakelj's men practically decided the match with a dominant second quarter, although there were also many empty minutes in their game.
"Bosnia is a better team than the last time we met, they brought in new players and play in a different way. We are expecting a tough game, regardless of the fact that we are playing at home," warned Butsjell.
The team from the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina has won three of its last four matches in the ABA League, and was defeated by Red Star.
"Bosnia is coming in at a good pace and is in good form. It is a quality team, its players are performing with a lot of self-confidence, playing aggressive defense, with many solutions in attack," Žakelj pointed out.
Buducnost is also in good form in the regional competition, having won seven games since losing to Red Star in early November. With a record of 11-2, they are the leaders of Group B - ahead of the Belgrade team (10-3) and Cedevita-Olimpije (10-4).
It is clear therefore how many mistakes should not be made against Bosnia, although the former European champion (1979) also has his own calculations and wants a big triumph that would bring him closer to one of the top four places.
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