After finding itself on the receiving end of Nigel Hayes-Davis's record scoring night, ALBA (5-27) will look to bounce back against a Partizan team (14-18) desperate for victory to stay in the top 10 chase.
Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan: 'We are happy that more or less we depend on ourselves'
ALBA has lost nine in a row and must end that sequence to have any chance of avoiding a last-place finish, while Partizan is looking for a first road victory since December. The Serbian team comfortably overcame ALBA, 89-74, when the teams met in November, led by 20 points from Aleksa Avramovic. His scoring power along with the drive of Kevin Punter, who has averaged 17.7 points in the last three games, will be fundamental to Partizan's hopes of ending its negative run.
Israel Gonzalez, ALBA head coach
"We will do our best to get the win in the last EuroLeague home game in front of our fans. Of course, it's not an easy task. Above all, we have to compete and be prepared for Partizans physical style of play."
Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan head coach
"We don't look at what is behind us, but only at what is ahead. We know that many teams have great chances to reach the next round of the competition. We are happy that more or less we depend on ourselves. Therefore, we should prepare and play tomorrow's game in the best possible way. When talking about ALBA, several things are important. Number one is that they depend a lot on their transition game, that is where they are the most dangerous. We have to be careful and stop them, that means controlling the offense and not allowing good shooting percentages, especially for two points in transition. That is the first thing that we have to take care of, and the second is that they like to change defenses, to play zone defense and zone pressing. Also, we have to pay attention to have a good offense. Here we go back to the same thing again, don't let them score easy points from the zone defense. Those are the most important things, we have to know, and to repeat once again how important the game is to us. I hope we will be at the level needed to win the game."
Johannes Thiemann, ALBA player
"That will be a tough game on Thursday. Partizan is still fighting for the play-in and will definitely be ready and play physically. It's our last EuroLeague home game and we've shown character in our last home games. That's why we want to get the win – even if it will be hard."
Mateusz Ponitka, Partizan player
"A very important game for us. We have to win in order to have a chance for the Euroleague playoffs. It is one of the next two games where we must win. ALBA is a solid team, especially when they play in Berlin. They run a lot, they play in transition, they are especially dangerous in offense. We have to stop them, that is the key of the victory. We are aware that it will not be easy for us, and it will be a completely different game than it was the case in Belgrade."