Split – Borac Cacak

International - ABA League

20/10/2023 - 18:00 CET

The Expert

Split currently stands at 0-3 after three rounds in the ABA League, which is a significant disappointment for everyone involved with the club. During the summer, Slaven Rimac was appointed as the new head coach, a man who sensationally won this competition with Cibona in 2014. However, losses to Studentski Centar and Igokea at home have indicated that Split probably won't be a playoff team, which was their goal. One of the biggest problems is that the foreign players brought in to make a difference haven't consistently performed well. Shamiel Stevenson has been in a slump in the last few games, and Edward Shelton's performances are below expectations. This game is probably the last chance for many because if Borac Cacak secures a win at "Gripe Arena," certain changes could be on the horizon. 

In contrast to Split's three losses, Borac Cacak is at 2-1, which is an outstanding result for them. In all relevant power rankings before the season, they were positioned at 13th place, just ahead of Cibona. However, in the second round, they caused a major upset by defeating Mega on the road by 89:90. They played very well last week against Crvena Zvezda at their home court as well. However, they embarked on their journey to Croatia with several issues. Their best player, Ronaldo Segu, fell ill, and according to head coach Dejan Mijatovic, he didn't travel with the team. Allegedly, the virus has also affected the second-best player, Tylan Birts, but he will play on Friday. Although it's the early stages of the season, this win would be crucial for Borac Cacak in achieving their goal of avoiding relegation. 

Without Segu, Borac Cacak will be a different team in Split. It's extremely challenging to replace his 20 points, especially with a slightly shorter rotation. If Birts isn't at 100%, it's an additional problem. Two weeks ago, Split was expected to be well above Borac Cacak in the standings, and their first task is to defeat them on Friday. As mentioned earlier, if they suffer a third loss on their home court this season, it's possible that some players or even the head coach could face consequences. This is certainly a game to rectify things, and Split has the quality to do so at home. They have more depth than Borac and a better overall health situation.

Pistol Pete

From match to match, ABA League club from Serbia, Borac, proves that's a team with exceptional attacking potential.

For the game against three-time Euroleague champion Split, in ABA League round 4 on Friday, Borac team arrives with an excellent chance to score at least 80 points again. Last weekend on their court in Cacak, against the mighty Euroleague club Crvena Zvezda (defeat 93:87), they showed that they can play extremely well in attack against the absolute favorites.

Before that, Borac achieved two ABA League triumphs – over Serbian rivals Mega 90:89 away from home, and against two-time European champions Cibona 86:79 in round 1, in a duel played on October 1.

It is clear that the Borac team managed to bring in excellent American players during the summer. Guard Ronaldo Segu is extremely efficient, against Red Star he had 23 points and four assists. Excellent support is provided by the reliable shooter Birts, but also the dominant athlete Franklin, under the hoop. There are also players like the very talented and versatile Montenegrin power forward Tomasevic. One gets the impression that this is a team that can score at least 10 three point shots against any opponent in the ABA League.

Also, Borac guards are extremely aggressive in defense and provide the team with many opportunities for easy and quick counterattacks.

Split, on the other hand, did not impress defensively in the matches behind us. Last week they lost to Slovenian champions Cedevita Olimpija 97:68, away from home. Before that, in an exciting match at home in Croatia, Split lost to Bosnian championsa Igoke 95:90. It can be said that Igokea's team is roughly similar in attacking quality to Borac.

The home team will play under great pressure, expecting the first victory in the new ABA League season. An exciting and uncertain match is expected - but it is a safe scenario that at least the guests, and probably both teams, will manage to express themselves in the right way in attack.

In the defeat against Cedevita Olimpija, it was seen that the Split team has, first of all, problems in defense when it comes to the guards of the opposing teams. In those positions, Borac is the most dangerous, so it can be said that the Serbian team is an extremely difficult opponent for the hosts in this situation.

Last season, at the end of March of this year, their duel was spectacular - and Split won 113:99... In December of last year, Borac won 90:89 at home. Now an excellent attacking performance is expected again, although the Croatian club does not have such quality options in attack, as they had in the previous season.