Buducnost – Lietkabelis
Eurocup Group Stage Round 1
Podgorica, October 4, 19:00 CET
Buducnost finally showed its true face, on the last day of September in the first round of the ABA League and won over excellent Zadar tam 103:73.
The largest Montenegrin club is definitely the third strongest in the regional ABA competition, behind the two powerful Euroleague clubs Crvena Zvezda and Partizan. During the summer, the budget for player salaries increased by more than a third compared to the previous season, and the ambitions are high, especially in the Eurocup. Coach Petar Mijovic's team will look for a chance to qualify for the Euroleague next season through this, 2nd tier European competition.
They will have the opportunity to show their real quality, again on their home field, against the Lithuanian club Lietkabelis on their home field in Podgorica. Buducnost is the favorite for a reason, against the team that was third in the Lithuanian league last season.
In the victory over Croatian champions Zadar last weekend, in the first official match of the new season, Buducnost showed that they are able to respond to the game of teams that play in a fast transitional tempo. As many as seven players of the winning team had at least eight points. It turns out that bringing the former captain after nine years, Montenegro's national team veteran guard Vladimir Mihailovic, was a complete hit. He continued the series of good games from the preparatory period in September, last weekend he scored 24 points and led the team to an unexpectedly convincing and well-deserved victory.
The advantage of Buducnost compared to Lietkabelis is first of all the quality and number of excellent players at guard positions. Americans Ross, Wright and Magee have shown that they are extremely reliable shooters. On the other hand, tall athletes Williams and Jones were dominant under the hoop. Montenegrin power forward Ilic is excellent in the transition game.
When it comes to Lietkabelis, in reality there is only one player who could possibly play in the Euroleague – power forward Orelik. He's an excellent three-point shooter and reliable rebounder, it would not be a surprise at all if he recorded a double-double with more than 20 points scored in Podgorica.
However, the home team prepared extremely seriously for this match, aware of the role of favorites. Also, Buducnost wants to "break" the team that scored at least 95 points in the last two games, in the Lithuanian league, with a good offensive game. Lietkabelis's problem is defense, and the Montenegrin club has excellent players in positions where the opponent is deficient.
In their only match so far in Podgorica, in December 2017 in Eurocup, Buducnost easily won 76:62. The difference in quality is still roughly in that range, so we should expect the home team to win with a double-digit difference - or close to it. This season, Mijovic's team wants as few stumbles as possible in the group phase, and this match is an ideal opportunity for a good start to the season in European competition.