Studentski Centar – Zadar
ABA League Round 2
Podgorica, October 9, 18:00 CET
The young Montenegrin team Studentski Centar has a chance for another good offensive performance, against the Croatian champion Zadar on Monday in the 2nd round of the regional ABA League.
Not by chance, the Podgorica club won the ABA League Super Cup at the tournament in their city in September. Last season they were the most pleasant surprise in the ABA League and earned a place in the playoffs, where they were worthy rivals to the Euroleague team Partizan.
This team has won six in a row, that is - they it did not lose all the preparatory games in September. What the squad managed by the excellent coach Andrej Zakelj has shown is that they can respond to both dominantly defensive as well as attacking teams - and that they still prefer a faster style of play.
Thus, the Studentski Centar made a first-class surprise by winning over Euroleague powerhouse Partizan 83:81, in the match for the ABA League Super Cup trophy on September 20. Before that, an excellent and much more experienced team from Belgrade FMP was defeated 93:75. In the first round of the new season of the ABA League, "Students" won in Split, against the proud three-time champion of Europe, 76:72.
Zadar is a team that, with the return of the main star and player Luka Božić, will play significantly faster attacks than during September. After a 103:73 defeat away to another Podgorica team Buducnost (September 30), followed by a 80:75 away victory against Šibenik in the Croatian championship.
What is certain is that both teams are now perfectly capable of scoring at least 80 points in this match. The home team is the favorite for a reason, to a significantly greater extent than last season. When it comes to their previous duels, they were without exception matches with a large number of points, especially in Podgorica. In January of this year, the home team in Montenegro won 101:100 in overtime (89:89 in regular time). In October 2021, Studentski Centar as the host beat this opponent 94:78.
Also, their last match played in Zadar was marked by attacking basketball - the home team won 96:67 in October 2021.
The play of the young Montenegrin playmaker Drobnjak, as well as excellent shooters such as Dawkins, Dreznjak, Pavlicevic - and the centers Ivisic and Kamenjas will be key for the Studentski Centar team. For an effective transition game, the home team has many more quality options. On the other hand, everything depends on the inspiration of Luka Bozic, and it may happen that the official best player of the previous season in the ABA League plays all 40 minutes of this match.
Bookies are generally predicting a home win with a potentially double-digit point difference. But, at this moment, it seems more certain that both teams will provide the fans with a good show of fast and efficient basketball and direct the match with a large number of points.