After an 11-day break, the Buducnost Volija basketball players take to the field - tomorrow (18:30) the Montenegrin champion will visit Partizan in Belgrade in the first match of the semifinals of the AdmiralBet ABA League.
Buducnost played its last match on April 19 away from Zadar. Since then, the focus has been on the semi-finals and matches with the current champion of the regional competition.
"We had a lot of time to get ready, but the players want to play as soon as possible. We, the coaches, especially when we are in a rhythm, like to go as fast as possible. We had time to rest and prepare, to enter the game at a high level of energy ", said the coach of Budućnost Andrej Žakelj before the match.
Buducnost and Partizan met twice this season in the regular season, the "black and white" celebrated both times, in "Morača" in a direct clash for second place.
"There aren't many things that we don't know about each other. Partizan is a Euroleague team, one of the better offensive potentials in the Euroleague, and we have to pay attention to that. We know where the greatest danger comes from, and we also know what their weaknesses are. But, they also are preparing - I expect a refreshed, motivated Partizan. They also had time to rest and prepare. I prefer to think about our players, our approach, our focus... Fight, desire and focus decide the game," Žakelj said.
The Slovenian coach believes that the details will decide this series.
"The first game in Belgrade against them - then we were still looking for each other. We played at a very good level, and even better this last one. We analyzed the last match, we saw where we made mistakes, what we have to correct. Details decide in these kinds of games. And we are working more on the details, to fix them," said coach Budućnosti.
Vladimir Mihailović and Andrija Grbović have been out of the team since before.
"There are some minor injuries, but it's the semi-final, still against Partizan. I think everyone will grit their teeth, whatever the problem is, and play through the pain," said Žakelj.
The second match is on the seventh of May (18) in Podgorica, the eventual master three days later in Belgrade.
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