NLB MATCH OF THE ROUND: Budućnost VOLI host Partizan NIS in one of the key battles for the top spots
In this week’s NLB Match of the Round we have a big regional derby as Budućnost VOLI are about to host Partizan NIS on Sunday evening.
Aleksa Avramovic (Photo: Partizan NIS/Dragana Stjepanovic)
AdmiralBet ABA League Round 22, Sunday, 13 March 2022:
Where? Morača Sports Hall, Podgorica
When? 19:00
Story of the game: In this week’s NLB Match of the Round we have a big regional derby as Budućnost VOLI are about to host Partizan NIS on Sunday evening.
Just a quick look at the table will tell you enough how important this game is for both sides. Budućnost VOLI (14-4) and Partizan NIS (17-3) are among the teams who aim to finish the regular season at the top spot and the upcoming match can decide many things in the race for the 1st place.
Before even starting thinking about the big game against Partizan NIS, the players of Budućnost VOLI will have to forget everything that happened over the past 7 days as they suffered two painful defeats in that period. The Podgorica side firstly suffered a big blow in the race for the 1st place in AdmiralBet ABA League as they lost the away match against Zadar last weekend, while after that they were defeated by Cedevita Olimpija on the road in 7Days EuroCup. Therefore, Budućnost VOLI troops will now want to show a proper reaction as getting back on the winning path is so much important for them at this moment.
On the other side, Partizan NIS comes out of a week in which they scored one huge win, but also suffered one pretty heavy defeat. Recall that the black-and-whites triumphed in the big Belgrade derby over their arch rivals Crvena zvezda mts last weekend in AdmiralBet ABA League, however just couple of days after that they were defeated by Lietkabelis on the road in 7Days EuroCup. Now, Partizan NIS want to show that the shocking defeat in Lithuania was just a bad day for them and that they are ready to get back on the winning path in one of the key moments in the season.
In the 1st part of the season Partizan NIS defeated Budućnost VOLI in Belgrade by 75:66.
Match-up in focus: Many things in Budućnost VOLI gameplan depend on their starting point guard Justin Cobbs who is the 2nd best scorer and the top passer of the team in the ongoing season. Cobbs has reached double digits in scoring in 12 out of 17 games he played in this season and he will probably represent the biggest danger for Partizan NIS defense in the upcoming match. At the same time, Partizan NIS definitely hope that Aleksa Avramović can repeat that last-round performance when he scored 33 points against Crvena zvezda mts. Avramović scored 31 out of those 33 points in the 2nd half of that match as he helped his team grab one of the biggest wins in this season so far.
Head-to-head score in the regional league: In total 13:21; In Podgorica 9:7.
