In the Eurocup, after six rounds, there are no undefeated teams, and only three have a score of 5:1. And while Lokomotiva Kubanj and Partizan have 6:1 victories in group A, Budućnost Voli has a much more difficult task to preserve an almost perfect performance and remain alone at the head of group B.
Aleksandar Džikić's team will have two big opponents - one tired due to reduced rotation and lack of quality training, the other in Gran Canaria.
The team from the Canary Islands is very experienced, has several excellent players, but before tonight's match in "Morača" (19:XNUMX) they are under the imperative of victory, because they have to end the series of four consecutive defeats.
- We are playing against a very good team. She tied some losses, but that shouldn't fool us. They have a lot of foreigners, they run well, they play aggressive defense all over the field, and I think they will come out like that against us, because of our small rotation - points out Vladimir Micov.
Porfirio Fisak's team was defeated by Manresa four days ago in Las Palmas (82:80), and it was in vain that the former combo guard of Mega and Red Star, Dylan Ennis, scored 18 of his 31 points in the last quarter.
The former centers of Barcelona and Baskonia, Artjo Pustova, i.e. Ilimane Diop, are also in the lineup, John Shurna and 37-year-old Serbian Oliver Stević are also under the basket, there are also excellent shooters AJ Slaughter and Nicholas Brusino...
Last season, Gran Canaria reached the semi-finals of the Eurocup and was eliminated by the same team that Budućnost defeated in the previous round - Zvezdan Mitrović's Monaco. All this shows how hard work awaits Dzikić's team.
By the way, Granka is an inconvenient guest and the only team that has won all matches in the Euroleague this season.
- We have a lot of injured players, unfortunately we are used to that in recent weeks. We manage, we play well, we found our own way to hide it. We are playing at home, I hope a lot of people will come. A difficult period is behind us, regardless of the fact that we are winning. We will try to pull together, win Gran Canaria and stay in 1st place - said Mitsov.
The biggest asset of Podgorica is Justin Kobs. The American with a Montenegrin passport is playing great this season, he is the fourth scorer in the Eurocup with an average of 18,83 points, the second stealer, the 12th assister, the third in the number of forced fouls...
- I expect a tough match between the two teams that are at the top of the group. Gran Canaria comes after four consecutive defeats, it will certainly be full of ambition and energy. He will try to turn the situation around and I expect a competitive match. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but it's important that we go out with the right focus and energy and try to do the job - Kobs pointed out.
5:1 leads Gran Canaria in head-to-head matches. The Spanish team won all four matches in the Eurocup in the 2010/2011 seasons. and 2014/2015, and in the Euroleague the teams are equal. In Las Palmas on December 14, 2018, it was 95:85 for the home team, which was the beginning of a bad series that led to the parting with Aleksandar Džikić. "Blues" took revenge in "Morača" on January 25, 2019 (75:70) for the last victory of that season in the Euroleague
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