Historic first matchup with Cluj is ahead of the Dragons

Cedevita Olimpija will travel to Cluj on Tuesday, as the Dragons are set to face U-BT Cluj-Napoca on Wednesday at 19.30 local time in BT Arena in Round 2 of the 7DAYS EuroCup regular season.

U-BT Cluj-Napoca is set to host its first-ever 7DAYS EuroCup game when Cedevita-Olimpija Ljubljana comes to town. The two teams hold 0-1 records, so the better of them on Wednesday will get into the Group A win column.

While Cluj will play its first home game, Cedevita Olimpija goes to play its first official basketball game on Romanian soil since 1968, when the team from the Slovenian capital played against Dinamo Bucharest. This will also be the first time ever that Cluj plays against a team from Slovenia.

And although there is no history between the two clubs, one person creates a significant connection between them. Cluj center Andrija Stipanovic spent three seasons with this week’s opponent during which he was a heart and soul of this team. His first two seasons, from 2017 to 2019 were with Cedevita Zagreb where he was a team captain before that club merged with Olimpija Ljubljana, and he played another season there, too. He is set to see many familiar faces on the other side this week, in which will surely make for an even more emotional encounter for him.

Cedevita Olimpija shot more three-pointers (35) than two-point shots (31) last week, so even though it made 10 triples, those came on a sub-par 28.6% accuracy. That’s especially true for its backcourt starters Josh Adams and Yogi Ferrell, who each shot 0-for-6, with the rest of the team going 10-for-23. If Ferrell and Adams find their range, or make a better shot selection, it could lead to great things for Cedevita Olimpija in this game.

Jurica Golemac, head coach of Cedevita Olimpija:
“We’ll give everything we can in the game against Cluj, to get the victory. We have health problems, but we’re not travelling to Romania with a white flas. It’s going to be a tough match. Our opponents play smart basketball, and they’re very dangerous on the home court. We’ll do everything to be competitive in Wednesday’s game, and to return to Ljubljana with a victory.”

Amar Alibegović, player of Cedevita Olimpija:
“We have a tough game ahead. Cluj has a great team with a lot of energy. It’s important that we step on the court with the right attitude, especially because of the fact, that we’re playing an away game. We need to have the right energy from the first until the last minute of the match.”

7DAYS EUROCUP, GROUP A

REGULAR SEASON, ROUND 2

BT Arena (Cluj-Napoca, Romania), Wednesday, October 19, at 19.30:
U-BT CLUJ-NAPOCA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA

STANDINGS