BLOG: Žarko Paspalj – “ABA League is the flagship sporting event in the region”

Wednesday, 26. December 2018 at 12:25

In his first blog for the ABA League website, the ABA League Ambassador Žarko Paspalj has analysed the situation in the league’s standings, while offering a bit of his own view on the League and it’s importance as well. Read the blog below.

Zarko Paspalj (Photo: Partizan NIS)

Crvena zvezda mts have so far for sure made the best impression, having won all of their 12 games played so far. The least turbulent and the most expected. Zvezda have made some serious changes. They have focused the most on foreign signings, have signed a good head coach and I believe that this is a huge step forward in comparison to the previous season. The team apparently has its peace and the perfect score in the opening 12 rounds is no surprise whatsoever. Now, that half of a season is over, one can say, that Zvezda will keep their first spot in the standings until the end of the season and I would be truly surprised if it wasn’t so in the end. They will enter the Playoffs as the best team and what happens later is difficult to predict, as it is then a different philosophy and different kind of pressure.

Zvezda have excellent players. The level of their game and their behaviour is enough for the best possible place in the ABA League. They have been well selected and selected in accordance with the wishes of the head coach. Zvezda are functioning wall in this aspect and this is giving results. I believe that Milan Tomić is a good coach and am surprised that he hasn’t decided to start his head coach career for many years until now. This was for sure a good moment and his career will get better and better.

Taking a look at the top of the standings, we cannot overlook four clubs. Besides Zvezda, there are Cedevita, Budućnost VOLI and Mega Bemax. Even if there are any ups and downs for these teams major ones can happen only at Mega Bemax, since they are focusing on production of young talent. I have an impression that the departure of already established player Bitadze to Budućnost is a part of this philosophy. Mega had many victories at the beginning and we need to wait and see how their story goes on.
Zvezda, Budućnost and Cedevita are three best teams when we are considerint the Playoffs chances. Whether the fourth team would be Partizan NIS, Mega or some other side, we have to wait and see.

Partizan NIS currently have a 6:6 score in the standings, there were some unexpected defeats, some of the victories that were magnificent and they have had many ups and downs. The way the team was composed, the way they are playing. After the first game in Zagreb I was surprised by the great attitude in the court, as well as by a tough win against renowned Cedevita, which were looking intriguing at that point of the season. In one moment they fell down as a team and two or three defeats forced the replacement of the head coach. They have signed a man, that is a famous tactician in the Europe. His name by itself is bringing additional possibilities, quality and optimism that something better would follow. But, in the end, the coach is not the one playing. The coach is the one that is composing the things and the players are the ones that are playing in the court.

Partizan NIS made a step forward in the EuroCup in comparison to what their game looked like in the first part of the season, but in the right moment they have played two or three games in the proper manner and qualified for the next stage. However, playing two games a week is too tough of a task for this team in order to keep the same high level, what we have seen both in the recent games against FMP and Cedevita. Against FMP they had a tough game, but they have won it, which can be considered as a team’s quality. On the other end, they failed to repeat the success against Cedevita in a great game, that had huge importance.

Speaking of Budućnost VOLI, we can sense the consequences of playing both EuroLeague and ABA League. We have all been aware ahead of the season’s start, that this would be a tough season for them and that playing at this European level wouldn’t be such an easy challenge for them. That’s how it has begun. They made 3 great wins, have been playing very well, but on the other side, they also have four defeats in the ABA League, which is a result of fatigue and playing in a brand new dimension. This is a new experience for them. They haven’t been playing this for 20 years or have been playing it in a different format and they still need to get used to it. I believe that there is a great desire of the club’s management to raise the level of everything. As he himself has stated it, the President Dragan Bokan pointed out their priority to qualify for the EuroLeague again, but that they have several opponents with this goal in mind.

In the middle of the standings there are Cibona and FMP and Petrol Olimpija behind them. Cibona, as a huge sports brand have had a few excellent games. I have been watching them play against Budućnost VOLI and they were fantastic. FMP are playing well. They are working great and they deserve more support from the fans. FMP have several players at their disposal that deserve those five victories that they possess at the moment and they are therefore in a good and stable position. I have been expecting more from Petrol Olimpija. Ljubljana is a city that knows basketball very well, that loves basketball very much, but apparently them failing to deliver results in the previous seasons has affected their home game attendance. Personally I like their concept this season with young players, home grown players and with quality foreign players. I believe that in the remainder of the season they would look better and that it would attract the crowd in bigger numbers than it has been the case so far.

At the bottom of the standings, there are Zadar, Igokea, Krka and Mornar. The battle to avoid relegation will be very exciting. The difference between the last placed and the sixth placed team is no more than one win. So it’s very difficult to predict, who has the best or the worst chances to survive this battle.

In any case, ABA League has proven once more that it is the flagship sporting event in the region and without this competition there would be no quality basketball in this region as well. This is for sure. There are many things that are great in the ABA League. I am interested in the attendance in the arenas, in the attitude of the participants on the court and the atmosphere. I believe that this is crucial for the league to make a progress, since it is showing the public interest. I would point out the games Cedevita – Partizan NIS in Zagreb, where Cedevita have demonstrated excellent hospitality and proved that the club is run by the people who are good in their business and that they are true professionals. The hall was packed and everyone were enjoying. The game between Budućnost VOLI and Partizan NIS in Podgorica also had excellent atmosphere and was also a good game in the light of the great performance of Podgorica squad in the EuroLeague. Of the great things I can also single out the attitude of referees and the referees’ organization and it is a pure 10 for me, regardless of the fact that we, the people of our region, are difficult in mentality regarding the referees and there is always something about referees bothering us.

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BLOG: Žarko Paspalj – “ABA League je najkvalitetnije sportsko takmičenje u regionu”

U svom prvom blogu za zvanični sajt ABA lige, ambasador lige Žarko Paspalj je analizirao situaciju na tabeli lige, a istovremeno ponudio i deo svog ličnog stava o ligi i njenom značenju. Pročitajte blog u donjim redovima.

Najjači utisak ABA lige do sada je, svakako, Crvena zvezda mts, sa 12 utakmica i 12 pobeda. Najmanje turbulentno, a najviše očekivano. Zvezda je napravila ozbiljne promene. Veliku pažnju je posvetila dovođenju stranaca, angažovala je dobrog trenera i mislim da je to ogroman iskorak u odnosu na prošlu godinu. Tim očito ima mir i maksimalan učinak u 12 kola u ovoj situaciji uopšte nije iznenađenje. Već sada na polusezoni može da se kaže da će Zvezda verovatno zadržati prvu poziciju do kraja i bilo bi veliko čudo da ne bude tako. Kao najkvalitetniji tim ući će u play off, a posle kako bude, pošto je to i druga filozofija i drugačiji pritisak.

Zvezda ima dobre igrače. Taj nivo i način kako igraju i kako se ponašaju, to je dovoljno za najviši plasman u ABA ligi. Zvezda ima dobru selekciju, koja je urađeno u skladu sa željama trenera. Zvezda po tom pitanju dobro funkcioniše i to daje rezultate. Mislim da je Milan Tomić dobar trener, a mene čudi kako se ranije nije opredelio da počne da radi kao prvi trener posle toliko godina. Ovo je svakako bio dobar momenat i njegova karijera će da ide sve bolje i bolje.

Kada gledamo vrh tabele izdvajaju se četiri kluba. Pored Zvezde, tu su još Cedevita, Budućnost VOLI i Mega Bemax. Čak i ako bude oscilacija među tim ekipama, one mogu samo da se dese kod Mege pošto je kod nje u prvom planu produkcija igrača. Imam utisak da je odlazak već dokazanog Bitadzea u Budućnost deo tog razmišljanja. Mega je imala dosta pobeda na početku, a kako će da ide nadalje to ćemo da vidimo.

Zvezda, Budućnost i Cedevita su tri najbolja tima kada govorimo o projekcijama plej-ofa. Da li će četvrta ekipa biti Partizan NIS, Mega ili neko treći to ćemo da vidimo.

Partizan je trenutno na skoru 6:6, bilo je tu nekih neočekivanih poraza, nekih pobeda koje su bile izvanredne, imaju uspona i padova. Onako kako je tim poslagan, tako igra. Posle prve utakmice u Zagrebu na početku sezone jako me je iznenadio dobar odnos i ponašanje na terenu, kao i jedna teška pobeda protiv renomirane Cedevite koja je u tom momentu izgledala vrlo interesantno. U jednom momentu došlo je do pada, i sa dva, tri poraza i do promene trenera. Doveli su čoveka koji je renomirani stručnjak u Evropi. Njegovo ime samo po sebi nosi neku mogućnost, kvalitet i optimizam da će nešto bolje da se dešava. Ali, na kraju krajeva trener ne igra, trener je onaj koji postavlja stvari, a igrači su ti koji igraju.

Partizan je u Evrokupu otišao dalje u odnosu na ono što je igrao u većem delu prve faze, ali je ipak odigrao u pravom momentu dve, tri dobre utakmice i prošao. Doduše, danak igranja dve utakmice je suviše težak za ovaj tim da zadrži neki kontinuitet što smo videli u utakmicama protiv FMP-a i Cedevite. Protiv FMP-a je teško dobijena utakmica, ali su je dobili, što može sa jedne strane da se podvede pod kvalitet. Protiv Cedevite u jednoj vrlo ozbiljnoj utakmici, koja je imala veliki značaj, ta pobeda se nije desila.

Kada je reč o Budućnosti VOLI, oseća se danak igranja u Evroligi i ABA Ligi. Svi smo mi znali na početku sezone da će ovo za njih biti teška sezona, da igranje na tom nivou u Evropi za njih neće biti mali izazov. Tako je počelo, napravili su 3 dobre pobede, igrali su jako dobro, s druge strane imaju 4 poraza u ABA ligi, što je posledica i umora i igranja u jednoj novoj dimenziji. To je za njih novo iskustvo, 20 godina to nisu igrali, ili su to igrali u nekoj drugoj formi i na to će morati da se navikavaju. Mislim da postoji velika želja uprave kluba da sve digne na jedan veći nivo. Kao i sam što je rekao predsednik Draga Bokan, njihov prioritet je da se ponovo kvalifikuju za Evroligu, ali da će u toj želji imati još neke protivnike.

U „zlatnoj sredini“ su Cibona i FMP, nešto ispod njih je Petrol Olimpija. Cibona, kao jedno veliko ime, imala je par odličnih utakmica. Gledao sam je protiv Budućnosti i delovala je izvanredno. FMP igra dobro, tamo postoji jedan dobar i kvalitetan rad koji zaslužuje veću posetu publike. FMP Ima igrače koji zavređuju tih 5 pobeda koje trenutno ima, tako da se oni nalaze u jednom dobrom i stabilnom stanju. Očekivao sam više od Olimpije. Ljubljana je grad koji zna košarku, voli košarku, ali očito su se neuspesi iz nekih ranijih sezona odrazili na posetu. Meni se lično sviđa njihov koncept ove godine, neki mladi igrači, domaći igrači, sa proverenim strancima. Mislim da će to u nastavku sezone to da bude bolje i da će onda to publika podržati i dolaziti u većem broju.

Na dnu tabele su Zadar, Igokea, Krka i Mornar. Biće jako uzbudljivo i što se borbe za opstanak tiče. Razlika od poslednjeg do šestoplasiranog je u svega jednoj pobedi. Tako da je veoma teško prognozirati ko ima najslabije šanse da izdrži u toj borbi.

U svakom slučaju, ABA Liga je još jednom pokazala da predstavlja najkvalitetnije sportsko takmičenje u regionu, i da nema ovog takmičenja, ne bi bilo kvalitetne košarke na ovim prostorima. To je sigurno. Mnogo je stvari koje su izvanredne u vezi sa ABA Ligom. Mene interesuje posećenost u dvoranama, ponašanje aktera na terenu i atmosfera. Mislim da je to glavna i osnovna stvar za ligu da napreduje, jer to pokazuje zainteresovanost. Izdvojio bih utakmice Cedevita - Partizan u Zagrebu, gde je Cedevita pokazala izuzetno gostoprimstvo, i da klub vode ljudi koji znaju svoj posao, i da su u pitanju pravi profesionalci. Dvorana je bila ispunjena, i svi smo uživali. Utakmica Budućnost - Partizan u Podgorici je takođe imala fantastično navijanje, i gde je bila sasvim dobra utakmica, u jeku dobrog nastupa Podgoričana u Evroligi. Od sjajnih stvari moram da istaknem je i ponašanje sudija i sudijske organizacije, i to je za mene čista desetka pošto smo mi inače teški ljudi u regionu i nama stalno smetaju sudije na ovaj ili onaj način.

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