Faltering Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (11-11) will aim to protect its home court against a Zalgiris Kaunas (8-14) that showed its potential by thrashing Fenerbahce last week.
Aleksa Avramovic, Partizan: "I hope we show our value"
2023-24
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 23 of 34
Regular Season
Partizan Mozzart Bet BelgradePAR
8172
Zalgiris KaunasZAL
Overview
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Coach Zeljko Obradovic’s team has lost three of the last four, but all those losses were on the road and Partizan boasts an 8-2 record at home. The Serbian team also took a road triumph, 85-93, in Kaunas last month, with backcourt dynamo PJ Dozier delivering a typical all-around performance with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Zalgiris lost that game despite a stellar 33 points from Keenan Evans, who had 21 points and 7 assists in last week’s win over Fenerbahce and will play a key role again this week.
Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan head coach
"In comparison to the game in Kaunas, Zalgiris will have three players who mean a lot for their team. We talk about Lukas Lekavicius, Arnas Butkevicius, who helps the defense significantly, as well as Brady Manek, in the four position, and Trinchieri uses him a lot. His percentages are outstanding, he plays well. With the arrival of Trinchieri, some players were given different roles. Zalgiris has changed, they have become more aggressive. In the last five rounds they steal an average of three more balls than before. In addition, they have a good a three-point shooting percentage, the best in the Euroleague. It is important to point out that most fouls are called against us and them throughout the season. "
Andrea Trinchieri, Zalgiris head coach
"Partizan is an excellent team. Zeljko is the best. There will be a full arena with a lot of fans, and I love to play there. We know it will be very difficult, as they are a very good team. They have a core of players that are together with the same coach and they play smart basketball. They’re going to come to the game very focused, they’re going to play their best basketball, and we need to be able to suffer. Without suffering, we don’t have a chance, because Partizan will have some good moments, they will have some runs. They have size, athleticism, experience, so it will be a high task for a high reward."
Aleksa Avramovic, Partizan player
"We beat them in the first game in Kaunas. We played fantastic, selfless basketball. We know how difficult it is to play on their court and we won for the second year in a row. They changed their coach, they will play with the help of Butkevicius, who they missed in the last two months. He is a fantastic defensive player. They have risen a bit recently with the arrival of a new coach, but they are the same team, the same characteristics of the players. We trained well this week and I hope that tomorrow we will go out on the pitch and show our value. "
Brady Manek, Zalgiris player
"It will be my first experience in Belgrade, so I think it will be enjoyable to play there in such an atmosphere. We have to keep our momentum going. When we play together as a team, when we play hard, we have some really good games. We need to continue to move the ball like we have been lately and just come out aggressive and be ready to compete. It will not be easy, as Partizan is one of the top teams in EuroLeague with great coach and many good players. "
