Bakken Bears – Peja
Basketball Champions League Qualifiers Round 1
The Danish champions Bakken Bears are clear favorites before the match against club from Kosovo Peja in Antalya, in the Basketball Champions League Qualifiers round 1.
The winner of Monday's duel in the Turkish city goes directly to the next round of qualifiers, and a convincing Bears victory is expected. The team from Aarhus has proven from the beginning of the match, both in friendly matches and in the domestic championship, that they are extremely high-quality attacking team.
The Bakken Bears retained key players from last season. Along with extremely versatile shooting guard Darko Jukic, reliable playmaker Sorensen - there are also excellent athletes in positions under the basket. American forwards Pinckney and Evans are exceptional in the transition game, while Senegalese center Diouf is a dominant option under the hoop.
On the other hand, the Peja team is counting on the quality of American playmaker Aaron Cook, and the impression is that the team from Kosovo does not have enough tall players in the forward positions and that center Lis Shoshi cannot compete in a direct duel with Diouf.
In the weeks since, the Bears had some impressive offensive performances. They were defeated 86:85 against the extremely high-quality Ludwigsburg from the German Bundesliga in a friendly game played on September 9. Then in the domestic league, victories were achieved against Horsens (94:87) and Copenhagen (93:80).
Peja did not impress during the preparatory period this month. Defeat against North Macedonian team TFT Skopje 84:81 (September 6) showed that this team does not have impressive quality.
During the weekend, the Bakken Bears did not play - the last match was a win against Copenhagen on September 19. Thus, the Danish champions had three days more than their opponent to focus on this duel.
One gets the impression that Peja has no ambition to fight for a place in the Champions League group stage. On the other hand, strong European matches are imperative for the Bears, who have dominated Danish basketball for years.
The surprise in this match would be if Peja avoids defeat by a double-digit margin. However, the Bakken Bears are a team that could reach a double-digit lead already in the opening phase of the match. In reality, only Estonian team Kalev, a potential opponent in the second round of qualifiers, acts as a challenging rival for the Bakken Bears in this interesting qualifier tournament in Antalya.
The next qualifying round will be played already on Wednesday, and the final third round in Antalya will be played on Friday, September 29. Bakken Bears already have the experience of playing in the group stage of the Champions League, while the clubs from Kosovo have not yet achieved any success in European competitions.