Power Rankings: Who is on fire ahead of the season?
The preseason period is over and the ABA League season tips-off in no more than two days. Let’s take a look at which teams have caught their desired shape already by the season’s beginning and which still have some work to do, according to their preseason results.
Rashawn Thomas (Photo: Cibona/Zeljko Baksaj)
Partizan NIS have deserved to be mentioned before all of the other squads, since they haven’t written down a single preseason defeat, while also claiming their first ABA Super Cup trophy. The black and white have edged out Mega Bemax, Koper Primorska and Cedevita Olimpija at the Zagreb tournament, while also prevailing over Sloga, Darussafaka, Maccabi Fox, Arka Gdynia, Mornar, Fenerbahce Beko and AEK in their test games. At the EuroCup opening, they have beaten Reyer of Venice and have left an impression that they would be very, very difficult to beat at the start of the 2019/20 season.
Another squad, that have made a 100% record in the preseason are Crvena zvezda mts, the reigning 2018/19 ABA League champions. They have played six preseason games, beating Brose Bamberg, Darussafaka, Mornar, Olympiacos twice and Peristeri. However, in their first and only game at the ABA Super Cup in Zagreb, they have suffered a defeat to ABA League newcomers Koper Primorska, which has spoiled a bit the expectations of their fans ahead of the season opening.
Koper Primorska have had an excellent 2018/19 season, when they have claimed trophies in every single competition that they have played in and for sure they have no intention of stopping there. In their six test games ahead of the 2019/20 campaign, they have achieved five victories alongside only one defeat. The Tigers have beaten Inter Bratislava, Cibona, Temp Sumz, Reyer and Alma Triest, while drawing with Khimki. At the ABA Super Cup they have come up with a Quarter-final win against Crvena zvezda mts, only to be defeated in the Semi-finals against Partizan NIS.
Budućnost VOLI of Podgorica have played in the ABA League Finals last season and they have demonstrated during the preseason that their goals this season would be similar. They have played eight preseason games this preseason, winning 7 of them. They have beaten Khimki, Nizhny Novgorod, Cluj, Mega Bemax, Mornar twice and Split, while losing against Cedevita Olimpija. At the 2019 ABA Super Cup, they have first prevailed over Cibona in the Quarter-finals and were later eliminated in the Semi-finals.
FMP have composed an intriguing and talented squad, that will be able to cope with any team this season in the ABA League. They have won six of their nine preseason games. They were better than Šentjur, Karsiyaka, Oldenburg, Mornar, Dynamic VIP PAY and Igokea, they have drawn with Oradea and lost against Promitheas and Unics. At the 2019 ABA Super Cup, they lost to Cedevita Olimpija in the Quarter-finals, after overtime.
Cedevita Olimpija are entering the 2019/20 season with a brand new energy after a merger of Cedevita Zagreb and Petrol Olimpija and will be aiming high. That’s what they have demonstrated at the 2019 ABA Super Cup, where they have reached the Final, where they have been stopped by Partizan NIS, after previously prevailing over FMP and Budućnost VOLI. In their test games, Cedevita Olimpija have claimed six wins and suffered two defeats. They have beaten Inter Bratislava, Gaziantep, Budućnost VOLI, Ratiopharm Ulm, Vanoli Cremona and Šentjur and lost to Nizhny Novgorod and Cantu.
As always, Mega Bemax have a talent-packed squad, that is full of ambition and will try to upset any opponent in the 2019/20 season. In preseason, they have won six out of their eleven games played. They have beaen Sichuan twice, Texas Tech, Cluj, Lovćen 1947 Bemax and AEK, drawn with Karsiyaka, and have been defeated by Texas Tech, Darussafaka, Mornar and Budućnost VOLI. At the 2019 ABA Super Cup, they have suffered a Quarter-final defeat against the tournament winners, Partizan NIS.
Igokea are entering the new season with the same old philosophy, of underdogs, that aren’t afraid of anyone and that also can upset anyone. In preseason, they have won five of their nine games, beating Sloboda Tuzla twice, Cibona, Zlatorog and Büyükçekmece and losing to Ulm, Cibona, Karsiyaka and FMP.
Cibona, the hosts of the 2019 ABA Super Cup, have been defeated at their home tournament in the Quarter-finals, after a good fight, by Budućnost VOLI. In their test games, they have had a 50% success rate, beating Dubrava, Igokea, Temp Sumz and Torun and losing to Igokea, Koper Primorska, Zadar and Anwil.
Zadar have changed their squad significantly this season and we still need to see what their shape would look like when the important games begin, but their preseason record has been 50%. They have beaten Split, Cibona and Khimki and have been defeated by Split, Anadolu Efes and Alba Berlin.
Krka have played seven games this preseason and their record was 43%, as they have beaten three opponents and have been defeated by four. Their victims were Šentjur, Enisey and Široki, while they have suffered defeats by Velika Gorica, Fortitudo Bologna, Spars and Nymburk.
Last, but certainly not the least, Mornar are looking towards the new season with great optimism, as their squad is full of big names, but it seems that they will need a bit of time to compose all of their pieces together, as they haven’t yet shined in the preseason, winning four out of their ten games. They have beaten Balkan, Sloga Kraljevo, Szolnoki Olaj and Mega Bemax and have been defeated by Borac, Crvena zvezda mts, FMP, Partizan NIS and Budućnost VOLI twice. However, they have managed to qualify for the Basketball Champions League, as they have edged out Benfica in the Qualifiers.
Find out more about ABA League preseason HERE.
Find out more about ABA Super Cup HERE.
