For a long time, they were the ABA League leaders, with their eyes on 1st place and the advantage of the home court in both rounds of the playoffs, but the defeats in their three last away games led them to an unfortunate situation, reports Vijesti on March 12, 2018.
Now the basketball players of Budućnost Voli have no room for a mistake. In the last match of the league stage of the regional competition, the "Blues" must beat the FMP in "Morača" to be the hosts of the first and possibly third game on their home court in the semi-final against Cedevita.
If they lose, that right would be won by the Zagreb players who overcame Partizan on Saturday and increased the pressure of Aleksandar Džikić's team.
Kyle Lendrie won’t be on the team, as well as the long-injured Filip Barović, but this should not be an excuse in the match tonight.
"We have known our opponent in the semi-finals of the ABA League for a long time, but we still have to confirm the advantage of the home court in that series. We play in Morača in front of our fans; we expect as many of them to come as possible, to cheer for us and to help us win," Džikić is clear.
Everything in the game of the "Panthers" revolves around Filip Čović. The son of the President of Red Star and FMP owner Nebojša Čović has complete freedom in the team of Vladimir Jovanović, being their best scorer with 15.8 points and assists (7.4).
Podgorica's players stopped him well in Železnik, where he scored 6 points and 11 passes in the defeat of his team (93:76). Nigerian Michael Odzoo (11.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks on average) is also dangerous, as are Nemanja Nenadić, Aleksa Radanov, and Stefan Pot.
"The game is important; the opponent is not at all easy. FMP is one of the teams that only play one game per week from the beginning of the season - in other words, enough time for training, rest, and preparation. We have to play with more energy to help us compensate the missing player's performance," Džikić concluded.
Sead Šehović, with his recent play, won himself a more significant role in the team and should be one of Džikić's trump cards in tonight's match.
"A crucial match is in front of us because tonight’s victory gives us the advantage of the home court in the semi-finals of the ABA League. We have to respond to their mobility and depth of play and try to get them out of their system," said the 28-year-old.
This article was translated from an article by N.N. on Vijesti.me: Budućnost Voli - FMP, The last obstacle for the number two
