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Kandemir: We have to keep them in the low figures

Group H is probably the weakest one in the Eurocup - Radnički and Bešiktaš both have 3-1 at the moment and whoever wins tonight will have one hand in the second round

Radnički are hosting the Turkish Besiktas in the third round of Eurocup. The Serbian team have 3 wins in a row in this competition and a potential win here would bring them closer to round two. Radnički are doing much better in the Eurocup than ABA League where they lost against Budućnost from Podgorica in the last round.

Radnički had a 40-29 lead at half time against Podgorica but they gambled it away in the second part, they conceded 56 points and were completely shattered in defense.Their best player was once against point guard Marko Marinović with 27 points, and Sava Lešić and Yarou added 13 points each. In the last round of the Eurocup, Radnički won against Neptunas in a game with 198 points. It was a game without defense and this is slowly becoming Radnički's style this season.

- Due to fall in concentration in defense we've played two completely different half time against Budućnost.  We dominated the first half, and I think we played great and we conceded only 29 points. Our form dropped in the second half, we didn't do what we did in the first. We conceded 57 points, and this must not happen -  Marko Marinović, Radnički's best player in recent games.

- The game against Besiktas is one of our most important ones to go through to the second round of the Eurocup. We are facing a good, expensive team. They are the best team in our group, you could see it from the start and you can see it after 4 rounds. They have plenty of international players. They are among the top four teams in the Turkish league and this will be a real tough task for us. However, we've already had a surprise when we beat Spartak, and we won't surrender against Besiktas as well - said Marinović, while his coach Miroslav Nikolić added:

- We have to be a lot tougher than in previous games because that is the way Besiktas play. We have to be ready for them not allowing us to get into our rhythm and we have to be aggressive from the start.

Radnički have played a large number of high-scoring games this season, this is where they're most comfortable and they will try to impose their rhythm. They use pick game a lot and this is one of their main weapons. They are also quite good on the rebound, Yarou gets a lot of balls and they see their chance there.

Their renowned Turkish opponents are coming to Šumadija with 3 European wins in a row. They started with a home defeat against St. Petersburg, but then they won against Neptunas and Busons away, both games by 1 points, and they crushed  Panionios in Istanbul last week, getting a great defensive performance.

Coach Kandemir is aware of the importance of today's game, aware of the quality of Kragujevac, and his plan to put defense as top priority is understandable:

- Our rivals can be a very dangerous team. Our chances will be much higher if we keep the game in low figures. We want to play such a game. 

Besiktase have been very stable in defense so far, they have a team that can play strong at the back and in positions where Radnički are strong, such as point guard Marinović (Perkins), power forward Lešić (Buckman) or center Yarou (Ružić/Iverson). If this segment goes according to their plan, they will be on the right track.

- A win here would be a huge step in terms of progressing - added coach Kandemir who won't have the full squad at his disposal.

Important shooting guard  Muratcan Güler didn't travel to this game due to injury, and he is an important player in the rotation that played over 20 minutes in all 4 Eurocup games (5,3 P, 3,8 R, 2,5 A). 

- Mehmet Yağmur will play a bit more and Doron Perkins can do his job as shooting guard - revealed  Besiktas's coach.

Last weekend, they had an easy task in their league. Trabzon came with 3 injured players (Ačik, Penney, El-Amin) and they used that to get an easy win by 20 points, with 22 from Lofton, 20 from Perkins and an overall 12/27 3-point shot.

 

 

Radnički have been doing well in the Eurocup but they are not the favorites here in my opinion. Bešiktaš have more quality - Perkins, Lofton, Iverson, Buckman, Ružić...they all have more value than Marinović, Lešić, Mlađan, Yarou. The turks have been on a par against Galatasaray and are coming here after 3 consecutive wins, their defense is better and Radnički will be in a lot of trouble if the offense doesn't start the way they want. And the Turkish coach said they would go for a low-scoring game.