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Obradović wants the record 14th consecutive win for his birthday

Alba have a run of 13 wins in all competitions and a win today would see them break their record. It will not be easy as Himik rarely lose at home and their main playmaker Delaney is back

Hikim have opened the round two of Eurocup with two wins so they didn't feel too bad over their failure in Berlin last week. The Ukrainians have had the initiative for the better part of the game. The second period was particularly good as they made a huge run and got the advantage, but they completely fell apart in offense in the second half. Thy scored a total of 30 points in the second 20 minutes. Their last period was particularly problematic as they lacked defensive intensity which the Germans used to win by 16 points. 

This means that Himik should look for a +17 win today in order to beat them in the head-to-head score. A tough task, but it's clear that Himik just need to win at home to reach the next phase of the competition. And Himik only have one Eurocup defeat in 6 games this season. 


- We played well for the first 30 minutes against Alba but then we made too many mistakes and made too many bad decisions - said coach Karlis Muiznieks. 


Last weekend, Himik played a return fixture of the Ukrainian Cup quarter-finals. They beat Goverla by 87-81 which wasn't enough for them to reach Final Four as they lost the first game by 71-79. Interestingly, Himik won the regular time of the second leg also by 8 points which is why overtime had to be played in which Goverla defended their lead.


- Of course, we wanted to win but we started that game really poorly. We started as if it were a training session. We were unlucky in the end.


He could have a much easier task today than in the first game against Alba. They couldn't count on their many point guard Paul Delaney and the American has returned in the game against Goverla and is expected to be in the starting 5 today. A lot is expected from Rolands Freimanis who score 15 points in the first game against Alba while he scored 23 against Goverla. Romeo Travis has also been doing great in the paint lately (25 points against Alba), while better performances then last week  are expected from guard Matt Gatens and Jamal Shuler who had a joint 1/8 shot for three points in Berlin.


The German visitors have probably forgotten how it feels to lose. Alba have a run of 13 wins in all competitions. The last time they lost was in the early December against Brose away. They have six consecutive wins in the Eurocup and a win today could see them secure the next phase of this competition. The atmosphere is as great as their form.


They beat the team from the bottom of the league Tübingen this weekend. It was visible that Berliners didn't have the right intensity in their game, but they didn't have to as the opponents were simply too weak. One should mention that they went over 100 points while David Logan had a 7/7 field goal (4/4 for three) and that no player spent more than 23 minutes on the court. 


Coach Saša Obradović said after this game that he wasn't happy with their defensive performance. They conceded over 80 points against the weakest and injury-plagued team but it was clear the opponents had today's game in their mind.


- This is a completely different game in comparison to the one last week. Delaney is coming back and Himik will be much stronger. We know it's very important to win this game. We came completely motivated  to finish the job but it won't be easy. A win would be a huge step towards the next step for them as well. I expect them to be extremely motivated - emphasized Obradović who will celebrate his 45th birthday tonight.


Akeem Vargas added:


- In order for us to win, we have to show the same defensive pressure like last week. The main task will once again be to stop Shuler and Gatens.


In case of a win today, Alba would set their new record of 14 wins in a row and would set the record of 7 consecutive wins in European competitions. 

In normal circumstance, Himik are certainly capable of beating Alba at home, regardless of the long winning run of the Berlin team, but considering the problems the Germans have had to Yuzhny, this bet has to be taken. It all started when Alba were stuck in the Harkiv airport after failing to fly for Odessa due to poor weather. They should have had a short bus ride to Yuzhny from there. This didn't happen. The players spent the entire Wednesday waiting in the airport. It became clear in the evening they will not be able to play the game as the weather prevented the flight to Odessa. During the evening, it was decided they will go to Kiev and take the 500 km bus ride to Yuzhny during the night. There is no information that Alba arrived to their destination at the moment. The start of this game will be announced later, depending on Alba's arrival to Yuzhny. The question is whether the Germans would even travel by bus through snow had the Euroleaue board not decided to sanction the club unless they do. Himik could prepare in peace, they got Delaney back and Alba have lost two days without a training, getting to know the Ukrainian winter.