The newest EuroCupBasketball.com blogger is Edo Muric from Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. Join him as Muric shares his thoughts on this unique season and his team's journey through it.
Edo Muric, Olimpija: This is like winning the lottery'
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Hello EuroCup fans, this is Edo Muric of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. Let me start by saying this is a unique season and you have to be ready to adopt. We've had a few postponed games at the last moments, which threw us off a little bit, but we had a few mini training-camps instead and now as the games are coming our way I feel we are playing better and better. But, the rhythm is tough. For instance, this past week we had three games between Tuesday and Sunday and there will be more weeks like that. It is a hell of a rhythm for European basketball, but we are glad that we can even play. The situation is what it is, but we are ready for it and I think that the other teams are also more prepared because all you have these days is being at home and practicing in the gym. The world has stopped, so we are all happy to have a bunch of games and we can't wait to prove ourselves.
So far, our season is going super. We are playing well and the new year has also started well for us. We have one defeat in all competitions in 2021, against Virtus in Bologna. We quietly wanted to create an upset there. We started the game great, but the second quarter ruined us. They flew around the court and hit a bunch of shots, which gave them confidence. When players of such caliber feel they can play well, then it is impossible to stop them. It is my opinion that Virtus has a team that would battle for the EuroLeague Playoffs and they are surely the main contenders to win the EuroCup.
"There is a lot of work and sweat ahead to make it through our group."
We were so happy to beat Buducnost last week in Round 2. That is another team built to make a long run in the EuroCup. For sure, that is a game that got our confidence level up. The Buducnost game was very important for us and very, very tough. We are happy that we beat them, but we know we have not accomplished anything yet. The next two games, both against Bourg, are equally important and I expect them to be equally tough. There is a lot of work and sweat ahead to make it through our group.
We actually beat Buducnost twice last week. First, we won our EuroCup game and then two days later beat them again in our Adriatic League match. We made 15 three-point shots in the EuroCup game and 18 threes two days later. That was good, but our team is made of a bunch of guys who can shoot, so I would not say this was by accident and these were not the first games that we hit bunched of triples. We have good shooting percentages and I think when teams prepare for us, they prepare knowing we are good shooters.
Buducnost is a very good team and so is Bourg. They both displayed quality this season and I think it will be the three of us battling for one place to make the quarterfinals along with Virtus, which, obviously, I think is the favorite to go through. Bourg had great games this season and they had a bad game against Buducnost. We should not judge them by that one game, but by all their other games and I think they have legitimate quality to make the quarterfinals, too.
This Top 16 format where we play the same teams in back-to-back weeks is always interesting, but we got very used to it this season. This will be the fourth time we play the same teams within few days. During the regular season, we first had two games in three days on the road against Bursaspor. Then we had two games in six days against Promitheas, one at home and the other away. Last week we had two home games in 48 hours against Buducnost – one of them in the Adriatic League. And when I think of it, we actually won all six of those games.
"Jaka has shown what he can do. I am glad he is our captain and you cannot ask for a better teammate."
Those situations are specific. There are no bad teams in the EuroCup, so you really have to give your best effort for every win. Then, a couple of days later you play the same team again after revealing everything you have, all your plays, all your defenses, in the first game. However, for the second game, even though you are tired and they know your game plan, you are also ready because you got to know your opponent. And I actually think it is easier to play the same team twice in a few days than to play two different opponents within 48 hours, where you would have to scout and prepare for another team, learn what they do well, how their best players play.
So, we will face Bourg twice in seven days and we enter that game knowing they have an excellent team. I have been following them the entire season because my good friends, Danilo Andjusic and Alen Omic, play there. They were probably the most pleasant surprise of the regular season for me. I know it will be tough and we have no room for mistakes.
I go way back with Andjusic and Omic. I played together with Andjusic at Partizan Belgrade and I know what kind of a shooter he is. For him, it really does not matter if his feet are set or if he is shooting it from one leg. His shooting mechanics are great, he has a quick release and you cannot leave him open, not for a second. But he also finds his teammates; he is not selfish, he has many weapons and he will be Bourg's biggest threat for us. They have other players who are experienced and will use every chance you give them to score, rebound, or draw a foul. It means we have to be 100% in it for every second of the game and will have to be ready for a big fight against them. I am sure our head coach Jurica Golemac will develop another great plan and it is on us to follow it and never give up.
"To play at this level, with players of this caliber, basically in my neighborhood, it is a true privilege."
Everyone sees that Jaka Blazic is playing an excellent season for us. I've known Jaka for a very long time, since our days as youngsters, and I don't find the way he is playing strange. I know what kind of a talent he has in him and what kind of a worker Jaka is. His performances really don't surprise me much at all. I think he could have displayed that even earlier, but I believe that in the past he fell victim to being tagged as a defensive specialist in the EuroLeague and that his role on offense was limited to cuts or spot-up shots. I knew he had a lot bigger qualities, but that was how he was used and teams needed him to play those defensive specialist roles.
I am very happy he came back to Olimpija. Jaka has shown what he can do. I am glad he is our captain and you cannot ask for a better teammate. His work ethic can be an example for every young player, how much he works and how dedicated to basketball he is. And with him growing up with Olimpija, there is no better person to be the team captain here. He deserved it.
For me, this might not be a team where I grew up, but Ljubljana is my hometown and it is a privilege to play at home for an ambitious club like Cedevita Olimpija. And to play at this level, with players of this caliber, basically in my neighborhood, is a true privilege. Players look for ambitious teams and I have that in my hometown. I cannot explain how much I enjoy it. And I grew up watching Olimpija, I've known about them since I was born, so this situation is like winning the lottery. I am so happy this team has been put together and that we can play basketball at this level in Ljubljana.
That's it for this blog. Until the next one, greetings from Ljubljana!