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Head-to-head: Muric, Cedevita vs. Bitim, Bursaspor

Head-to-head: Muric, Cedevita vs. Bitim, Bursaspor

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Head-to-head: Muric, Cedevita vs. Bitim, Bursaspor

A pair of forwards who know each other quite well and are coming off career-best seasons, Edo Muric of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and Onuralp Bitim of Frutti Extra Bursaspor, are set to face off against each other once again on Wednesday night when their teams square off in Round 1 of the new 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup season.

The two are former teammates who shared the locker room at Anadolu Efes Istanbul for the first part of the 2017-18 season, when each made his debut in that competition. On Wednesday, they will go against each other in a EuroCup game for the third time in just over eight months.

This week's game is a rematch of last season's quarterfinals at Stozice Arena, in which Bursaspor escaped the Slovenian capital with a dramatic 83-85 win. Both players were among the key protagonists of that thriller. Bitim had 14 points and 6 rebounds in 32 minutes in Bursaspor's win, while Muric had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists as Cedevita's rally from a double-digit deficita came up just short.

It was their second head-to-head game of the season. They had also gone against one another in early February, also in Ljubljana, with Cedevita storming to a 103-86 home win. Muric played more minutes than any of his teammates (32:25) that night, and finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. Bitim played a game-high 35 minutes, and had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in a loss.

That regular season game came as the start of Bitim's explosion onto the scene. After averaging 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in his first five appearances last season, his first in the EuroCup, the 23-year old Bitim went on to score in double figures in 13 of his last 14 appearances. One of the most athletic players in the competition, he finished the season averaging 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists, helping Bursaspor reach the EuroCup Finals.

Muric also had his career-best season, which was his sixth in the competition. Muric averaged 10.4 points making a career-best 69.2% of his two-point shots and 39.8% on three-pointers while pulling down a career-high 5.2 rebounds.

Poised to build on a career-best season, the soon-to-be 31-year old Muric will do everything it takes for Cedevita to get its season started on the right foot. Meanwhile, Bitim will want to continue his run of quality performances, ready to embrace a growing role for last year's finalists.