Branko Lazić: “Home court advantage will be invaluable”

After an exciting situation and 1:1 in the Semi-finals after two games played, you have beaten Mornar in the Game 3 convincingly and entered the Finals. Is this triumph a sign that you are ready for the Finals and for protection of the trophy.

“Mornar have demonstrated that they are an excellent team and the most pleasant surprise of the season and they have earned themselves lots of praises. For us in the Finals the home court advantage will be of huge importance, since playing against Budućnost VOLI in Morača for sure would not be easy. Budućnost is a quality and experienced team and cetrtainly tough job is ahead of us in the Finals.”

Budućnost VOLI have beaten us wice this season. Do you expect it to turn out differently this time around?

“Two defeats this season do not mean lots, Finals are a different story. We are ready for it to begin and we believe that we can win the ABA League twice this season.”

What will be crucial in the Finals?

“Definitely it will be hugely important to take advantage of the home court, to travel to Podgorica with a 2:0 advantage and to try to make our best possible job in their court afterwards.”

In the Semi-finals in the decisive games home court turned out to be invaluable. Can it be the same this time? How much does the support of fans mean to you?

“I hope that the fans would come to our games in the Finals to support us the way they did it in the Game 3 of the Semi-finals. They were out driving force and it was evident how much they mean to us. They are our fuel that keeps us going and forces us to give more than we really can in every moment. The home court advantage will definitely be crucial in these series. I do not remember Budućnost VOLI losing any game in Morača this season and we haven’t either in Aleksandar Nikolić Hall.”

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Branko Lazić: „Prednost domaćeg terena će nam mnogo značiti“

Po četvrti put zaredom Crvena zvezda mts će zaigrati u finalu regionalnog takmičenja. O novom izazovu ispred ekipe Dušana Alimpijevića smo razgovarali sa najiskusnijim članom crveno-belog tima Brankom Lazićem.

Nakon neizvesne situacije 1:1 u polufinalu nakon dve utakmice ste zabeležili ubedljivu pobedu na kraju protiv Mornara i prošli u Finale. Da li je ova ubedljiva pobeda znak da ste spremni na finale i na branjenje trofeja?

„Mornar se je pokazao kao dobar tim i najprijatnije iznenađenje ove sezone i zaslužili su same pohvale. Što se nas tiče, mnogo će nam značiti prednost domaćeg terena, jer igrati protiv Budućnosti VOLI u Morači sigurno neće biti lako. Budućnost je mnogo kvalitetan i iskusan tim i svakako nas očekuje težak posao u finalu kako bismo odbranili pehar is prethodnih sezona.“

Budućnost VOLI vas je u toku regularnog dela sezone pobedila dva puta. Da li ovaj put očekujete drugačije lice vašeg tima u tom duelu?

„Dva izgubljena meča tokom sezone ne znače puno, finale je druga priča. Spremni smo na početak finala i verujemo da možemo da ponovo osvojimo ABA ligu.“

Šta će biti najbitnije u finalnoj seriji?

„Svakako će tu biti mnogo bitno da iskoristimo prednost domaćeg terena, odemo u Podgoricu sa prednošću 2:0 i da onda nastavimo da pokušavamo da odradimo što bolji mogući posao na njihovom terenu.“

U polufinalu su se u majstoricama domaći tereni pokazali kao presudna prednost. Da li ovaj put može biti jednako? Koliko znači podrška navijača?

„Nadam se da će publika i u finalnoj seriji da dođe da nas podrži kao u odlučujućoj utakmici polufinala. Bili su naš vetar u leđa i bilo je dobro vidljivo koliko nam znači njihova podrška. Oni su naše gorivo što nas pokreće i što nas tera da dajemo više od sebe nego što možemo u svakom trenutku. Prednost domaćeg terena će sigurno biti mnogo značajna u toj seriji. Ne sećam se da je Budućnost VOLI izgubila u ovoj sezoni neku utakmicu u Morači, kao ni mi u Hali Aleksandar Nikolić.“