FMP – Cedevita Olimpija
International - ABA League, Round 8
11/11/2023 - 17:00 CET
FMP did not start the new season well. They suffered shocking defeats to Krka and Mega on their home court, and they came close to losing to Cibona, the weakest team in the ABA League. However, things have improved in the last few weeks. FMP first outplayed Split at home, and then they secured a win in Bosnia and Herzegovina against Igokea. In the last round, they won the game even though their two best players (Hugo Besson and Aleksa Stepanovic) combined for only two points. This is the third season for head coach Nenad Stefanovic on the FMP bench, and he has left an outstanding impression. His team is always well-coached, and the game preparation is solid. The buzzer-beater win against Igokea has surely boosted their confidence.
Cedevita Olimpija invests a lot of money every season but never seems to perform well. This season, they invested less than usual, and the results are disastrous. They are 0-6 in the EuroCup, and in the ABA League, they have four wins and two losses. However, even in the Adriatic competition, they narrowly defeated Borac Cacak by 82:78 in the last round on their home court, despite the opponent shooting 0/12 from three-point range. The best player, Justin Cobbs, is injured and will be sidelined for several more weeks. The situation around head coach Simone Pianigiani is also strange. He has allegedly been unwell for three weeks, and assistant Andrea Turchetto has been leading the team instead. Sean Armand is in conflict with the board management, and they have forbidden Turchetto from putting Armand in the game in the past few matches, which may continue in this game. The positive aspect is the return of Klemen Prepelic, who has had 52 assists in the last five games, but apart from him, everything else is very poor.
In previous seasons, FMP has always provided strong resistance to Cedevita Olimpija at home, even when the opponent had a much more expensive team. Even now, the guests have more expensive players on paper, but not as in previous years. Cedevita Olimpija is in terrible form, missing their best player, and the situation with coach Pianigiani is more than strange. Even when they play well, as against Venezia, they disappear at some point and lose the fourth quarter by 33:15. On the other hand, FMP is on the rise, this game comes at a good time for them, and if they find a way to neutralize Prepelic's creativity, they can definitely hope for a third consecutive win in the ABA League.