Buducnost plays masterfully against Cluj, Jovanovic says: There is no pressure, the defense has to be better

The basketball players of Budućnost Voli failed to finish the job with Cluj in the quarterfinals of the AdmiralBet ABA League in two matches - after celebrating 86:73 in the first duel in Podgorica, the "blues" were defeated 94:90 on Friday in Romania, in front of about six thousand spectators in the "BT Arena", so they will have to look for a place in the semifinals of the regional competition on Tuesday (20), in the masterclass in the "Mtel Dvorani Morača".

In Cluj, Buducnost was soft, their defensive aggressiveness was not up to par, as evidenced by the 94 points conceded. The "blues" advantage never exceeded five points (54:49), and at the finish, after a three-pointer by Jogi Ferrell, it was 88:87. It was the last lead of the Montenegrin champion - Buducnost scored only two points in the last three minutes, Cluj turned the game around, and Fats Russell put the finishing touch on the victory with a three-pointer.

"The lack of focus and energy in some moments when we had them was the deciding factor. It's up to us to rest, analyze the game, prepare as best as we can, and win on Tuesday and advance to the next round of the competition," said Budućnost basketball player Đorđije Jovanović after the match.

The future was not strong in defense, Cluj easily reached points, eventually scoring 94. In the second leg, the defense must be different, because that is the recipe for victory against the Romanian team.

"In the next match, the imperative must be on defense. The defense must be better from the start, because against a team like this, which is good in offensive transition, defense is key. We showed earlier in the season, and in this match as well, that we are a good team in attack. We just need to tighten up the defense in a master class, fix some details, be aggressive from the start and, hopefully, qualify for the semifinals," explained Jovanović.

The rotation in Romania was further shortened, as Oleksandar Kovlijar was not in the squad due to a foot injury, while Andrija Slavković and James Thompson, who has long been regretted, did not enter the game. The championship will not be much different, so all players need to give their maximum in order for the "blues" to place among the four teams in the region.

"All players have to be at the same level, to give their maximum in order to win games like this. I believe that will be the case in the next duel. We have time to rest until Tuesday, to get ready to respond to their fast attack, to put up a good defense and reduce them to a small number of points. When we reduce them to a certain number of points, I think there will be no problems," said the 22-year-old basketball player.

Cluj ended the "blues" season in the Eurocup in March and shattered their dreams of reaching the finals of that competition. That match was marked as the match of the season, and exactly two months later, a new duel against the Romanian team is crucial. In March, Buducnost could not withstand the pressure, and on Tuesday they will play another very important duel.

"There is no pressure. It is nice to play in front of such an audience - both ours and theirs. There is only positive energy among us, which, I think, is key in this competition," Jovanović pointed out.

This season, Buducnost Voli and Cluj played 5 matches in a span of two months. It all started with a painful elimination from the Eurocup on March 11 (100:82), and then Buducnost recorded three wins in a row - two in the Top 8 phase of the ABA League (94:89 and 100:72) and one in the first match of the quarterfinal series (86:73). A new duel followed in the quarterfinals, which many hoped would be the last against the Romanians this season, but a defeat followed on Friday (94:90), so these rivals will meet for the sixth time on Tuesday.

The "blue" basketball player invited fans to come to the "Mtel Morača Hall" on Tuesday.

"I hope that the fans will come in large numbers to support us, that they will fill 'Morača'. I expect that they will give us the energy we need. We have the most important match of this part of the season ahead of us and I invite them to come and support us in large numbers," concluded Đorđije Jovanović.