The Spanish islands, which are almost ten times closer to Africa than to Europe, have always been one of the most difficult visits for the Montenegrin champion - both because of the distance and because of the quality of the rivals.
Buducnost Volija basketball players continue their Eurocup challenges in the Canary Islands, against the current winner of this competition, Gran Canaria, on Wednesday at 21 p.m.
"We have a difficult journey ahead of us and a difficult away game, but that is part of our job," said the coach of the Blues, Andrej Žakelj.
In the last round, in front of their fans, his boys registered only their third triumph in the second-highest European competition, while the champion is impenetrable after eight rounds and has won all eight. Despite all that, Buducnost has never celebrated in the Canary Islands.
"We know that they are undefeated in the competition, they are one of the favorites of the competition with a respectable squad and a very good game. We will prepare for the match in this short time we have and we have to show a better approach, more energy, better concentration and be at the level in defenders in order to get a positive result," Žakelj added.
The Slovenian expert recently arrived on the bench of Budućnost, and from the beginning he emphasized one thing in particular.
"We still have to work on ourselves and not worry about the opponent - in this case Gran Canaria. We don't have a lot of time, the boys are training well, but there are also a lot of things we have to be better at. First of all, I'm thinking about focus and concentration from why we make mistakes. There is also energy that can and must be better," says Žakelj.
Ross: To defeat them first
It is already well known that Buducnost has been waiting for a European away win since January, and this season they have lost each of their four matches away from "Morača".
"I'm expecting a good game. It's a very good team that plays great at home. They haven't lost in the Eurocup yet, and it's certainly a great motivation for us to beat them first," said Blues point guard Colby Ross.
And the way to victory would be...
"It's up to us to put into practice the things that the coach conveys to us in training, to play hard, with attitude and to be smart, because that's the only way we can get results. I have a lot of confidence in my teammates and myself, so I'm very excited about games," Ross concluded.
Buducnost and Gran Canaria have met ten times so far, and the Spanish club was much better, leading 9:1 in victories.
Eurocup, group B
Tuesday
18.00 Turk Telekom - Sljonsk
Wednesday
18.00 Cluj - Litkabelis
19.30:XNUMX p.m. Ulm - Burg
20.00:XNUMX Trento - Aris
21.00 Gran Canaria - Buducnost Voli
Bonus video:
