Buducnost Voli - Mega
International - ABA league, Quarterfinals Game 1
With the new coach Petar Mijovic, Buducnost Voli received an important injection of much-needed energy and optimism, for the start of the fight in the playoffs of the ABA League.
The quarter-final series is played on the basis of two wins, in the eventual third match Buducnost Voli would be the host - and in the first duel against Mega, on their own field, the Montenegrin team is the absolute favorite. On April 21, the team from Podgorica received confirmation of the quality of individuals, but also of a realistically solid selection and base for different variants of five players on the field. At home that day, Buducnost Voli was one step away from triumphing against the powerful Partizan, one of the strongest teams in Europe this spring - and the 83:82 defeat was the result of a combination of circumstances at the very end of the match.
What a contrast it was in comparison to the shocking defeat against Borac at home 87:85 on April 15, after which Mijovic got the opportunity to lead Buducnost Voli for the third time in his career. With his arrival, the Podgorica team is expected to play a significantly better defense compared to all matches since the end of March. And in every duel in April, Buducnost Voli received at least 76 points.
Even in the biggest crisis of form, Buducnost Voli won against Mega away 85:76, in a match played on April 8. It is also the overall best game of the Podgorica team since the beginning of spring, not counting the previous match against Partizan.
Mega will certainly insist on a transition game with a large number of attacks, but in reality this kind of game suits the host. The guests are in a series of four defeats, of which the last one was especially convincing, on April 15 away to Cedevita Olimpija 85:70. In reality, against the favorites, Mega plays significantly worse away than in their own arena, so the outcome that can be expected is a convincing triumph of Buducnost Voli in this first match of the quarterfinals.
When he spoke publicly before this game, coach Mijovic called for caution, highlighting the quality of Mega's young players and the specific system of attacking basketball with which the opponent plays. A good response to the transition defense of the guests will be sought, but also to specific situations when the tall players of Mega, Rudan and Branković, shoot for three points. These are all variants that Mijovic knows well and knows what the Buducnost Voli team needs to do for a convincing triumph - and above all, to maintain focus during the 40 minutes of the fight.
These are dominantly attacking teams, and Buducnost Voli has shown that they still play significantly better defense this season. In the ABA League, the home team receives an average of 77.9 points, and Mega even 85.9 points, and Mega was in trouble especially in matches against favorites. The Montenegrin team has an obvious advantage in shooting three-pointers, this season they score them with a good 37.2 percent of realization.
On their home ground Buducnost Voli has a score of 10:1 in matches against Mega, the only time they were defeated was in the historic match of the semi-finals of the ABA league in March 2016... In their last four matches in Podgorica, the home team won with a convincing double-digit margin and there is no reason why it shouldn't be the same in this game.