Cibona – FMP
ABA League, Round 2
Monday - 09/10/2023 - 20:00 CET
Cibona entered the new season with many problems. Due to a severe financial crisis and debts, they couldn't register any new players. In the Croatian League, they played both games with five starters and juniors, so against Alkar on Saturday, Ivan Majcunic, Kresimir Radovcic, Ivan Perasovic, Domagoj Vukovic and Aleksandar Aranitovic played over 32 minutes. For this ABA League game, the rest of the team will be available except perhaps Tomislav Buljan, whose status is still unknown. All of these turbulences have certainly left their mark. Even with all players available, Cibona is on paper, the weakest team in this competition. It will truly be a miracle if they avoid the last position and relegation.
FMP didn't start the season well, to the surprise of everyone. In the previous two years, they were in the top 6 in the ABA League, and the expectations were that they would continue in that rhythm. They retained almost all key domestic players, while Lamonte Turner, Nate Watson and Jordan Walker were supposed to provide additional strength. However, they did not present themselves in the best way, so FMP later signed Hugo Besson, who scored 23 points against Krka in the first round. In the previous two seasons, this team looked particularly good between October and January. By mid-February, they would have enough wins for the top 6 on the table, and then a drop in form would follow. They started poorly this time with a loss to Krka in the opening round, and even before that, they played poorly in the ABA Super Cup.
In every aspect, there is currently a difference between Cibona and FMP. The guests have a incomparably better and more expensive team with more quality players in all positions. The head coach of the visitors, Nenad Stefanovic, is one of the most talented experts in the region, and his team is always well-prepared. Moreover, five Cibona players played over 32 minutes on Saturday and are certainly not at their maximum energy. FMP will be highly motivated not to start the season with 0-2 after the loss to Krka. A mitigating circumstance is that Cibona's matches are attended by less than a thousand people on average, so they won't have the pressure from the stands.