betprepare.com

Cibona have to stop Cantu's shooters

Cantu have a run if six wins and are in excellent form while Cibona are in a completely different mood ahead of this game

Cibona are hosting the leaders of their group, Italian Cantu, who have not been defeated in this competition yet, while Cibona have not won a game and their chances to go through are minimal. They were beaten in the last round by the Belgian Oostende while they somehow got a tough win at home against Mega Vizura in the ABA League.

They have been disappointing so far. It is evident that things have not yet settled into their place and you could see that in the last few games. They beat Mega Vizura on account of their fighting spirit but they have to play their best game so far to beat Cantu. It is obvious that Cibona are under pressure especially in Europe where they have a string of 27 defeats in a row.

- If we manage to get rid of that and if we remain constant throughout the game without any major falls, our chances are higher. We shall prepare as always before and hope that we won't be helping Cantu like so far, but taking points away from them. And hopefully we will not be trailing, because we've seen this scenario too many times this season - said Neven Spahija, Cibona's coach.

Andrija Žižić is Cibona's most consistent player along with young Dario Šarić who got 22 points against Mega. Rozić (22 points), Janning (20) and Blassingame (19) also had a good game while it is evident that Strawberry is still looking for his form. Spahija had a one-on-one talk with him in which he said he is not angry about his offensive performance but his lack of commitment in defense.

- If we want to rank the quality of teams in the competition so far, Cantu are the best team we are up against in the Europcup. It is a well-balanced team. They have a good 3-point shot. They are an excellent team that are at the top of Italian league, along with Siena, with only 1 defeat. On the other hand, we have four defeats. We came close to winning on two occasions but we lost with some conviction the other two times. However, I cannot shake the feeling that we can play against anyone. We can and we must play better than what we have shown so far - said Spahija at the press conference.

Cibona will have to be very aggressive and mark their men tightly, especially Aradori and Ragland who have great penetration but they also have to guard power forward Leunen who does not shy away from 3-pointers. His duel with Šarić might be very interesting for this game.

Cantu are in great form at the start of the season. They've got 8 wins in 9 games and are coming to Draženov Dom in completely different mood than Cibona. They're doing great both in their domestic league and Eurocup, where they are one of only 3 teams with maximum efficiency.

After a very tight win against Artland in the first round, they've got 3 very convincing wins - Le Mans away (+12), and Oostende (+25) and Nymburk (+15) at home. It is important to mention that they've won two games without Aradori, who's had a minor injury. He came back against Nymburk but the biggest name in this game was great Ragland (19 P, 6 R, 7A, 3 T) who was named the MVP of the round.

In the domestic league, Aradori got full playing time against Avellino and scored 11 points. They won by 74-67 and Ragland continued his great performances and got 24 points and 5 assists. Cusin and Jenkins added 10 each and confirmed that coach Sacripanti has a great selection of players in his team because a new player makes a step forward each time and gets a great game.

- We are in for a tough game against Cibona in Zagreb. They haven't been lucky so far as they would lose in the last attack. I'm sure they will do their best to win here and keep their hopes of progressing still alive. They have one of Europe's best players in Darijo Šarić and a great expert on the bench in Neven Spahija. We want to continue our run of good games and get a new win that would bring us closer to first place - said coach Sacripanti and Jenkins added:

- This will be a game of two teams in completely different moods. We want to continue winning while Cibona want to get their first win. We mustn't fool ourselves, Cibona have great American players Janning and Strawberry and young talents like Šarić and Planinić. We have to be aggressive and focused in order to continue going this way.

It is a bit strange to see rising odds for a team with 27 consecutive defeats in Europe. Cibona are at the bottom of the table and it will be very hard for them to make up for their defeats so far. They had their chances against Le Mans and Oostende, they didn't use them and now they're facing their toughest opponent, Cantu. The Italians are in great form, Aradori is back after a short injury break, but his absence wasn't felt due to their wide roster. Cantu's point guard Ragland is having a great season, he has an average of 17 points, 2,8 rebounds and 5 assists in the Eurocup, and Blassingame is not a player to guard him. Aradori and Jenkins are great shooters have great penetration and will wreak havoc on Cibona's defense. With Leunen and Cusin in the paint they will try to stop Šarić and Žižić, and they will be very tricky in offense as Leunen is a great shooter and Cusin has an advantage over Žižić with his 2,11 m. All in all, Cibona haven't shown they can play a serious 40-minute game and Cantu are a team that will punish any mistake they make.