Two well-rounded 7DAYS EuroCup squads will fight for a quarterfinals spot when MoraBanc Andorra hosts Buducnost VOLI Podgorica in a make-or-break showdown.
Breakdown: MoraBanc Andorra vs. Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
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Buducnost, deadly from the foul line
Buducnost leads the 7DAYS EuroCup in free-throw shooting percentage, having made 80.2% of its attempts. Buducnost also leads the competition in free throws attempted (378) and of course, made (303). Only Valencia Basket has drawn more fouls than Buducnost (378). It is safe to say that by being aggressive on offense and accurate at the foul line, Buducnost has managed to advance past the regular season without any trouble.
Naturally, some of the best free-throw shooters in the EuroCup this season play for Buducnost. Petar Popovic is perfect from the foul line in 25 attempts. Justin Cobbs has buried 104 of 118 free throws (88.1% FT) so far, D.J. Seeley is 51 for 59 attempts (86.4% FT) and Vladimir Micov has made 32 of 37 attempts (86.5% FT). If Andorra needs to foul in the final minutes, Buducnost shouldn't have anything to worry about.
Andorra, kings of clutch
If it is a close game, Buducnost should have an advantage from the free-throw line. Andorra, however, has not lost a close game in the EuroCup this season. Andorra is 4-0 in games decided by 6 points or less and 6-8 in other games. In its four previous EuroCup seasons, Andorra was 4-8 in games decided by that margin. It won as many close games this season as in the four previous campaigns combined, which speaks volumes about Andorra's focus and determination in crunch time.
Andorra edged Partizan NIS Belgrade 61-60 in Round 2, allowing just 2 points in the final 3 minutes. It also beat Lietkabelis Panevezys 81-76, holding off the guests' fourth-quarter comeback. Andorra bested Joventut Badalona 72-71 in Round 14 by rallying from a 61-68 deficit. In Round 18, Andorra topped Slask Wroclaw 91-95 to clinch the home-court advantage in the eighthfinals. Babatunde Olumuyiwa sealed the outcome from the foul line.
Micov knows what it takes
There is only one player in this series who knows how it feels to win the EuroCup title and that's Vladimir Micov of Buducnost. Micov captured the EuroCup crown with Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul in 2016, playing a main role in the team: he was chosen to the 2015-16 All-EuroCup First Team after averaging 12.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 24 games.
Micov averaged 17.0 points in the two-game quarterfinals series against FC Bayern Munich, which Galatasaray won on an aggregate, 161-158. Micov scored 21 points in the second leg of the semifinals against Gran Canaria and had the series-clinching blocked shot at the buzzer. And he averaged 12.0 points and a PIR of 15.5 in the finals against Strasbourg. Six years later, Micov is trying to go all the way again.
It's Miller-McIntyre time
Few players have been more consistent than Codi Miller-McIntyre of MoraBanc Andorra over the last four EuroCup seasons. In 48 games in that game, Miller-McIntyre has averaged 12.5 points, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals for Zenit St Petersburg, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, Partizan NIS Belgrade and Andorra. He leads Andorra in scoring (13.6 ppg.), did the same with Cedevita in the 2019-20 season (15.2 ppg.) and was Partizan's second-best scorer (13.1 ppg.) in the 2020-21 campaign.
Miller-McIntyre, however, has not played a EuroCup game past the group stages. In its first EuroCup appearance, Zenit did not get past the Top 16. In the 2019-20 campaign, Miller-McIntyre and Cedevita were eliminated in the regular season with a 4-6 record. Miller-McIntyre returned to the Top 16 with Partizan, but the team did advance from its group. Now, "The Wolf" is closer than he ever has been to the EuroCup title.