A tough test in Belgrade

On Sunday at 19.00, the Cedevita Olimpija will face the Euroleague Crvena zvezda mts, which is also the leading team in the regional competition, on the floor of the Aleksandar Nikolić Hall in the 11th round of the ABA League.

On Sunday at 19.00, Cedevita Olimpija will conclude the week that Ljubljana basketball players spend outside the borders of the Republic of Slovenia. As early as Monday morning, they traveled to Patras, Greece, and the route quickly led them to Belgrade, as they boarded a flight to Athens in the Serbian capital. This time they will return to Belgrade, and on Sunday in the Aleksandar Nikolić Hall they will face Crvena zvezda mts in the 11th round of the ABA League.

The Dragons are battling the Euroleague team on the wings of five consecutive wins in the last period, three of them in the 7DAYS EuroCup and two in the ABA League. The team of head coach Jurica Golemac suffered its last defeat on November 18 in the Canary Islands, against Gran Canaria, and this time the Ljubljana team is facing an extremely demanding test with one of the favorites for the title of regional champion.

In the ABA League, the Crvena zvezda mts are currently at the top of the table, with nine wins in ten games. The only defeat was suffered by the team of Belgrade in the clash with Buducnost VOLI, which was better with 67:65 in Belgrade at the beginning of December. The most effective basketball player in the red-and-white ranks in the regional competition is Jordan Loyd, who averages 14.3 points, 2.9 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game. It was Loyd who scored as many as nine of his 20 points in the last four minutes of the Euroleague clash with Valencia on Friday, thus helping Crvena zvezda mts to a 76:73 victory over the Spanish team, thus breaking the Belgrade team’s streak of five consecutive defeats. In the Euroleague, they have five victories after 15 matches.

Rion Brown and Roko Leni Ukić, who did not travel to Greece with the team last Monday, joined the team in Belgrade on Friday.

STATEMENTS BEFORE THE GAME:

Jurica Golemac, head coach of BC Cedevita Olimpija:
“Crvena zvezda mts is a team made up to win the ABA League title. The squad of Belgrade can easily compete with the best teams in Europe, and they are always a ball or two away from victory. For us, Sunday’s match with the Euroleague team will be a great test to see where we are. We will try to do our best and play superbly, especially in defense, so that we can successfully compete with Crvena zvezda mts.”

Jaka Blažič, captain of BC Cedevita Olimpija:
“We have a difficult match ahead of us, the derby of the upcoming round of the ABA League. For the first time we will play against Crvena zvezda mts in Belgrade in front of empty stands, so I can say that this is water for our mill. I have no doubt that we will prepare well for the match and play a good match.”

ABA LEAGUE, ROUND 11

Aleksandar Nikolić Hall (Belgrade, Serbia), Sunday, December 20, at 19.00:
CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA (TV broadcast on Arena Sport 1)