Turkish Bursaspor is coming to Ljubljana’s Stožice

Before the basketball players of Cedevita Olimpija, there is the last home test in the 7DAYS EuroCup before the break, which will bring national team activities at the end of February. On Wednesday at 19.15, the team of head coach Jurica Golemec will host the Turkish team Frutti Extra Bursaspor in the 12th round of the group stage of the competition in Arena Stožice.

After a busy week in which the Cedevita Olimpija team played three matches in seven days and twice played, on Wednesday in the French city of Bourg-en-Bresse and on Sunday in Podgorica, the Dragons returned to Ljubljana on Monday and began preparations in the middle the showdown of the 12th round of the 7DAYS EuroCup group stage with the Turkish team Frutti Extra Bursaspor. The duel will start in Arena Stožice at 7.15 pm, and the selected players of head coach Jurica Golemac will try to break a series of four consecutive defeats.

It will be possible to watch the match live on Šport TV 1.

While the Ljubljana basketball players found themselves in a demanding rhythm of matches and defeats after a forced break due to positive cases at COVID-19 in early January, Frutti Extra Bursaspor last stepped on the basketball court on January 15, when at 17. round of the Turkish national championship with 90:67 defeated Merkezefendi. The team was then plagued by positive cases at COVID-19, but did not step on the floor in the last round of the Turkish Championship due to infections with rivals.

In the 7DAYS EuroCup, the Turks have recorded three victories in nine matches so far, including one against the Cedevita Olimpija basketball players in the third round of the group stage. On Wednesday, November 3, the scoreboard in Bursa showed 93:84 for the home team after 40 minutes of fighting. The top scorer in the Bursaspor ranks was Allerik Freeman with 22 points, Kevarrius Hayes scored 21 and collected 11 more rebounds. At Cedevita Olimpija, Jaka Blažič scored 20 points.

The Ljubljana team showed a hearty performance on the road in Podgorica and fought for the victory until the last moments of the match with Budućnost VOLI. Justin Cobbs decided the match in Morača with a three-point shot over Jake Blažič’s outstretched arms less than 30 seconds before the end of the match. Zoran Dragić showed his best performance in the Dragons jersey, adding 20 points and six rebounds, and concluded the match with a valorisation index of 34.

Jurica Golemac, head coach of Cedevita Olimpija:
“On Wednesday in Stožice we want to win and get back on the winning track. We had bad luck in some of the last matches, but if we want win against Bursaspor, we have to be better in all segments of the game. Bursa is a great team that is very organized and disciplined, it also has a lot of individual quality. The players play aggressively and physically, they run well. We will also need the help of the fans, as we want new victories that would keep us in the game for the 7DAYS EuroCup playoffs.”

Zoran Dragić, player of Cedevita Olimpija:
“Expectations before the match are high, as we really want new victory. We have two very important weeks ahead of us. Only victory counts. We know that we lost in Bursa by a margin of nine points. The match will be extremely difficult. We are the home team, so we just have to do everything we can to win.”

7DAYS EUROCUP, GROUP B, ROUND 12

Stožice Arena (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Wednesday, February 2, at 19.15:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA : FRUTTI EXTRA BURSASPOR

STANDINGS: