Start of the 7DAYS EuroCup season in Gran Canaria

Cedevita Olimpija left Belgrade in early hours of the Monday morning, as the Dragons flew to Canary Islands, where, in Las Palmas, they will face Gran Canaria in Round 1 of the new 7DAYS EuroCup season.

Gran Canaria and Cedevita Olimpija split home wins last year in their first official games since Cedevita merged with Petrol Olimpija a few years ago. Cedevita won 84-68 in Round 3 with Jarrod Jones collecting 18 points and 9 rebounds. Gran Canaria returned the favor 90-82 in Round 8 behind 16 points from Matt Costello.

Before the merger between Cedevita and Olimpija, Gran Canaria was 3-3 against Cedevita since the teams’ first matchup in the 2010-11 EuroCup Top 16.

STATEMENTS AHEAD OF THE GAME:

Jurica Golemac, head coach of Cedevita Olimpija:
“We don’t have much time for preparation for the game against Gran Canaria, as we’ll be facing them two days after our ABA League match in Belgrade against Crvena Zvezda. It’s an extremely beautiful trip, which is also long. If we were going there for a vacation, it would be nice, but we’re coming to Las Palmas to play a game. It won’t be easy for the guys. We’re happy that the 7DAYS EuroCup season is starting. A lot of games are upon us, so we’ll be able to analyze them, fix our mistakes and adjust our game plan.”

Jaka Blažič, captain of Cedevita Olimpija:
“Gran Canaria has a completely new team, as far as we were able to see for now. Away games in Las Palmas are always difficult. They have great fans, who are their sixth player. We’re travelling to Gran Canaria after a difficult game in Belgrade against Crvena Zvezda, so we’re hoping for the best. We’ll be facing a lot of great teams in the new 7DAYS EuroCup season, for example, Valencia, Virtus Bologna, also Gran Canaria. We’ll have our chances and I believe in our team. I believe that we have a chance to get to the elimination games. I also believe, that these games will be attractive to our fans, who will be able to be back in the arena after a season of absence.”

Jacob Pullen, player of Cedevita Olimpija:
“Given our team and our capability, the expectations ahead of the season are pretty high. We’ve got a lot of fire power. We have a new team, but we’re starting to figure it out. We’re ready to hit the ground running in 7DAYS EuroCup. Every game matters. Hopefully we can start of good in Gran Canaria and get some momentum going after two tough weeks in the ABA League.”

7DAYS EUROCUP, GROUP B, ROUND 1

Gran Canaria Arena (Las Palmas, Spain), Tuesday, October 19, at 20.00 (21.00 SLO):
GRAN CANARIA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA (live stream on Euroleague TV)