After losing two in a row, Partizan (9-8) will look to get back onto a winning path with a visit from bottom placed ASVEL (2-15), which is aiming for a first win since mid-November.
Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan: 'ASVEL has shown great character'
2023-24
3 Min čitanja
Regular Season
Round 18 of 34
Regular Season
Partizan Mozzart Bet BelgradePAR
9077
LDLC ASVEL VilleurbanneASV
Overview
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Shooting ace Jaleen Smith is set to debut for Partizan, and Coach Zeljko Obradovic will hope he can remove some of the scoring burden from Kevin Punter (13.8 points per game) and James Nunnally (13.4). ASVEL still has bad memories of a 62-88 home thrashing against the Serbian team in October, but will hope to build on last week’s narrow loss to Real Madrid, which saw Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot register his 12th consecutive double-digit scoring game with 20 points.
Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan head coach
"The least we should look at is their position in the table. ASVEL is a team that has shown great character in every game since [head coach Gianmarco] Pozzecco arrived, which says a lot about him as a coach. And in all the games they were very close to winning. Basketball is such a sport that they lost some matches that were practically impossible to lose. Maximum respect, of course with the desire to open this year with a good match and a victory."
Jaleen Smith, Partizan player
"I'm very excited to play in front of the 20,000 or more people, to feel their energy and support. I saw the game against Virtus and I can't wait to get on the court. ASVEL is at the bottom of the table, but every game in EuroLeague is tough and important. They are a good team with great guards. These guys are monsters. As an opponent, you always want to play against the best and compete. I am ready for that both defensively and offensively."