3 days, 8 games and teams from all AAC groups will be in action. That’s the menu for Week 3 of the regular season. Read our preview of this week’s games.
In Group A, Dabrowa Górnicza will play for the first position and will welcome Pardubice, undefeated so far. Furnir will try to get their first win against Oberwart. “The response in terms of intensity and dedication against Vienna was great. Now the next step has to follow against Furnir and we have to push our development process with more discipline. The goal can only be the second win in the AAC,” stated the head coach of Oberwart Horst Leitner.
After last week’s win by Šibenka, the GKK players will try to get their first home win as well. „The win over Zabok took a lot of energy and we also lost Rebić, an important part of our game, due to a knee injury. Olomoucko did not start well in the league and will try to find a way out of the crisis in Šibenik. Their position in the table does not reflect reality, they are a much better team, they are just unplayed, but they will improve. We have a chance to fight for a place in the Alpe Adria Cup playoffs, which would be a great success,“ thinks the coach of Šibenka Damir Milačić.
Olomoucko will try to get out of the results crisis, as they haven’t tasted the taste of victory in the league or in the AAC yet. The question mark hangs over the participation of point guard Pedja Stamenković. “It’s going to be a tough game because Šibenik has made a great start in the Croatian league, which they lead. In the Alpe Adria Cup she has a balanced record so far. We want to play a good game. Maybe it is in the cup that we will bounce back to an improved performance in the league. It will be an even match,” estimates Olomouc boss and currently interim coach Michal Pekárek.
In the second game of Group B, Vienna can move closer to qualifying for the playoffs as they take on Ilirija for their third straight win. “Ilirija is a very young team. They have had some ‘ups and downs’ during the season. They also lost at home to Šibenka, though that’s not saying much now. They are a young team and will continue to have their fluctuations. We need to regenerate well in the short time – we played a lot of games in a short time with minimal bench rotation. We will go to Ljubljana and try to win and do a good job,” revealed Vienna’s coach Aramis Naglić.
In Group C, Škrljevo and Kapfenberg will battle it out for an important opening success. Kolín and Komárno will play for the top of the table. Both teams have a perfect record so far, so it is certain that one of them will lose their series.
Kolín is currently plagued by injuries, with a question mark hanging over whether Džiugas Slavinskas and Adam Číž will start on Wednesday. “We are expecting a very difficult match, Komárno will be our biggest opponent in the fight for the first place, based on the Alpe Adria Cup matches so far. We’ll see what line-up we’ll have, due to a few minor injuries to our players, but I believe we’ll be able to win the match in our home environment,“ said the assistant coach of Kolín Filip Rytina.
It will be a doubleheader for the Spišskí Rytieri in Group D. They will start their Balkan trip in Zabok. The Croatian team changed their coach a few days ago, Jakša Vulic is no longer on the bench, but his assistant Jurica Smiljanić. „Zabok surprised in the previous season, when they played in the playoffs. They have a squad made up of Croatian players, completed by our former player Jarvis Garrett, Bosnian pivot Refik Bašič and my former player Jakob Stipaničev,” informed coach of Spišskí Rytieri Teo Hojč about their first opponent.
Week 3 of the AAC regular season will conclude with Spišskí Rytieri against Rogaška. „If we want to continue our winning streak, we have to give our best every game. We will need to play aggressive in defence and smart in attack,“ reflects the captain of Rogaška Jure Špan.
For the team from Slovakia it will be two key games that can tell a lot about their chances of playing in play-offs. „Rogaška has always played at least playoffs in Slovenia in recent years, usually even semifinals. Twice they have even played in the Slovenian league finals. This year they have managed to put together an interesting and quality squad as well. They have a few Slovenians in the team, they are one of the better ones in the league. Both teams have their quality, I am looking forward to the confrontation and we will do everything to play good matches. We want to fight for victory in both games. We will also want to try to improve our game,” added the coach of Spišskí Rytieri Teo Hojč.
AAC Regular season Week 3 schedule:
Group A
26th of October at 18.00 h: MKS Dabrowa Górnicza – BK KVIS Pardubice
26th of October at 19.30 h: KK Furnir – UNGER STEEL Oberwart Gunners
Group B
25th of October at 18.00 h: GKK Šibenka – BK REDSTONE Olomoucko
26th of October at 19.00 h: Nutrisport Ilirija – BC GGMT Vienna
Group C
26th of October at 17.30 h: KK DepoLink Škrljevo – Kapfenberg Bulls
26th of October at 17.45 h: BC Geosan Kolín – BC Komárno
Group D
25th of October at 19.00 h: KK Zabok – Spišskí Rytieri
27th of October at 17.00 h: KK Rogaška – Spišskí Rytieri
