KK FMP – Varese
INternational - Champions League, Qualification, Quarterfinal
The Basketball Expert
Nenad Stefanovic became FMP head coach in the summer of 2021. Under his leadership for two seasons, the club has positioned itself in the ABA League top 6. Expectations are to maintain this place in that competition, and during the transfer window, they signed Lamonte Turner, Nate Watson and Jordan Walker. For the second consecutive year, they are participating in the FIBA Champions League qualifiers. Last season, they hosted the qualifiers and caused a major upset by defeating Breogan, but were shocked by Bakken Bears in the final match. This experience will undoubtedly help them in the upcoming encounter against a formidable opponent like Varese.
In the Serie A, Varese had 17 wins last season. However, due to a penalty from the Italian Basketball Federation resulting in point deductions, they did not participate in the playoffs. They were close to relegation but managed to avoid it. During the summer, they recruited few notable NBA players. Long-time Sacramento Kings member Willie Cauley-Stein joined, as did Sean McDermott, who has 18 games for the Memphis Grizzlies on his resume. Olivier Hanlan brings extensive experience from playing for numerous European clubs, and Gabe Brown could have a prominent role. Varese might be considered the strongest contender to advance from their qualification tournament to the FIBA Champions League group stage, but the task won't be easy.
FMP had a weak performance in the ABA Super Cup despite having several very good friendly games before that tournament. Considering coach Stefanovic's working methods and the discipline within this team, it's not realistic to expect an easy defeat against Varese. It's quite uncertain how Cauley-Stein and McDermott will adapt to European rules and basketball. It's much more realistic to expect that this team will showcase their best basketball in December and January. FMP is smart enough to capitalize on the opponent's lack of cohesion and remain competitive until the very end. They might not emerge victorious, but they shouldn't lose by a double-digit margin either.
Pistol Pete
Two dominant attacking teams, Serbian FMP and Italian Varese will battle it out in Turkey's Antalya in the Basketball Champions League qualifier on Wednesday, with Varese in the favorites role, to advance to the next round.
First of all, the five-time continental champion Varese will have the opportunity to impose a fast pace of play, which suits the team from the north of Italy. Coach Tom Bialaszewski gained a reputation last season as the coach who, more than anyone in Italian Serie A, demands a large number of quick shots from his team in matches. Belgrade FMP, on the other hand, last season also adopted a style of play that is more dominantly attacking than was the case in previous years.
Varese is counting on as many as three players who arrived from the NBA during the summer. The most famous are center Willie Cauley-Stein from Houston Rockets, and there are forward Gabe Brown from Phoenix Suns and guard-forward Sean McDermott from Sacramento Kings, who are excellent athletes and who will help to speed up the game of this team. Quality of the individuals in the club leaves no doubt - Varese is a team that could compete for the F4 tournament and fight for the title in the Basketball Champions League, in the spring of next year.
In the last preparatory match on September 16, Varese won against Cremona 105:101. Before that, this team won against San Massagno 92:58. Now they will again have the opportunity to score a large number of points. In the last 12 matches of this team, Varese even managed to score at least 81 points in a game - 11 times.
On the other hand, FMP made a good attacking impression at the ABA Super Cup in the middle of the month. Especially in the victory over the most famous Slovenian team Cedevita Olimpija 85:81, in the match played on September 20, which was also the last test for the Belgrade team before these qualifications for the Basketball Champions League. That this is a squad that knows how to play against excellent European teams is evidenced by the victory of FMP over German Oldenburg 81:75, in the game played on September 8.
Montenegrin power forward veteran Bojan Subotic performed well during September for FMP, as did American center Nate Watson and Montenegrin guard Zivanovic. American playmaker Turner had eight assists in a win over Cedevita Olimpija – with him on court, the team plays significantly faster and more efficiently.
Overall, a match with a large number of points is expected, in which Varese has a more pronounced motive to advance to the next round of qualifications, while the goal of FMP is to primarily focus on the regional ABA league this season.
The teams will play each other for the first time. Varese did not play in European competitions last season, and now he has big ambitions - perhaps even to spoil the calculations of the Italian Euroleague teams Armani Milano and Virtus Bologna, in the fight for the title of Italian champion in the spring of 2024.