Preview

Partizan – Lokomotiv Kuban. EuroCup. Preview

On Wednesday Loko will play important game against Partizan in the Top 16 of the EuroCup. The history, comments and interesting facts in the preview from lokobasket.com.

On Wednesday the opponents will play a very important match. At the moment, three teams at once have an equal number of victories in the group, so each game becomes of great importance.

Loko lost on the weekend to the leader of VTB United League Zenit on the road, and Partizan suffered their fourth defeat in a row – this time from Cedevita Olimpia in the Adriatic League.

Drew Gordon made his debut for Loko and scored 15 points in the first match. Nigel Williams-Goss, in theory, could play in Belgrade. So the red-greens, for the first in a long time, can approach the game with almost an optimal roster.

The leader of Partizan Rashon Thomas has returned from an illness and will be able to take part in the game. 

Partizan

Rashon Thomas is a key player of Partizan, who is leading in terms of points, rebounds and steals. An experienced player missed the match in Krasnodar, but has already recovered and will be able to play on Wednesday.

In addition to Thomas the Partizan frontcourt is represented by experienced Velickovic and Jankovic, and Zagorats can always compete in the paint.

The main shooter of the Serbian team right now is Marcus Paige, who is shooting 46.5% of three-pointers and almost never misses from the free-throw line (9 from 10).

Note the wide rotation of the opponent and the serious involvement of the bench in the game. Of the thirteen people who have entered the EuroCup at Partizan, no one plays less than 10 minutes on average per match. Paige gets the most time on the court – 25 minutes.

Partizan is dangerous on the perimeter – 36.5% of long-range shots.

The game between Partizan and Loko will be held without spectators, which can be safely recorded as pluses for the red-greens. After all, even the most experienced players sometimes cannot cope with the nerves under the crazy pressure of the stands in this arena.

Loko

Loko lost to Zenit over the weekend in the VTB United League, but there is no doubt that after the match the coaching staff made work on mistakes and set the team up for the battle in Belgrade.

Kevin Hervey missed the game in St. Petersburg due to the limit on foreign players in the VTB League.

Drew Gordon played his first match for Loko and scored 15 points.

Jordan Crawford scored 20 points and at once five Loko players along with him were marked by double figures in the points.

Reggie Lynch made 3 blockshots, and Mantas Kalnietis made 7 assists and 3 steals.

In the recent match of opponents in Krasnodar Loko demonstrated aggressive defense and good team play, especially in the fourth quarter. The game in Belgrade promises to be very hot!

Evgeny Pashutin, head coach of PBC Lokomotiv Kuban

The most important thing is to show aggressive defense in Belgrade. We need to play good defense against Perkins, Paige and Jaramaz. In the three-second zone we must to stop Velickovic, Jankovic and Thomas. It is necessary to control the pick-and-rolls of the opponent, impose a physically tough fight and win the rebound. In offense we should use a balance between attacks from the perimeter and middle range shots. Must maintain maximum concentration for forty minutes. This is an important match, we will give our maximum and we will only play to win!

Drew Gordon, center of PBC Lokomotiv Kuban

This will be a difficult game. Playing on the road is never easy. We both have a lot riding on this game. But I believe we have done well in preparation to this match. I have faith in our guys that we will play hard and play together to get to the ultimate goal of victory.

Where to watch

Loko will play against Partizan on February 3 at 22:30 (Moscow Time). You can find the channel in your country to watch this game online:

Balkans: SPORTKLUB1
Sweden: EUROSPORT PLAYER
Spain: DAZN
Internet: EUROLEAGUE.TV
Italy: EUROSPORT PLAYER
Bulgaria: MAX SPORT 2
United Kingdom: EUROSPORT PLAYER
Georgia: SILK SPORT 2 HD
Ireland: EUROSPORT PLAYER
Greece: NOVASPORTS 5HD
Denmark: EUROSPORT PLAYER
Hungary: ANTENNA
Finland: EUROSPORT PLAYER
Turkey: S SPORT2 & S SPORT PLUS
Norway: EUROSPORT PLAYER

Old connections

Nigel Williams-Goss played for Partizan in the 2017/18 season. It was the first season of an American point guard in professional basketball. Since then, only captain Novica Velickovic has remained in the team.

Before joining Partizan Nigel played for Gonzaga University alongside Josh Perkins, who now plays for the Black and White.

Drew Gordon played for Partizan in the 2012/13 season. And this was also his debut season in Europe and in general in professional basketball.

Partizan head coach Saso Filipovski coached Loko from March to October 2009.

History

In the first match of opponents in the Top 16 in the 2020/21 season, Loko won with a score of 74:67. Will Cummings became the best player in the red-greens with 15 points and 4 assists.

In the general history Loko leads with a score of 6:1.

Information about the opponent

Founded: 1945
Arena: Aleksandar Nicolic Hall
Capacity: 8000
Colors: black, white
Head coach: Saso Filipovski

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