Zeljko Obradovic after SuperCup final loss: 'Some players need to improve their form' / News - Basketnews.com

After the ABA SuperCup final loss against SC Derby, Partizan head coach Zeljko Obradovic says that some of the players still need to improve their form, adding that the most important thing – the official games have not begun yet.

Credit: ABA League j.t.d./Emilija Jovanovic Credit ABA League j.t.d./Emilija Jovanovic

Partizan MozzartBet Belgrade couldn't capture their first title of the season, but Zeljko Obradovic remained optimistic, arguing that the most important thing – the official games have not begun yet.

Partizan suffered a shocking 81-83 defeat in the ABA SuperCup final against SC Derby after Borna Kapusta made a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds to go.

"Some need to rest, and some need to improve their form to see if we can use them for more minutes," Obradovic sent the message to the players after the game via Bojan Brezovac via Mozzart Sport. "This is the preparation period until the most important thing starts, which are the official matches."

Talking about the game, Obradovic admitted that Partizan could have closed the game in a calmer fashion, but in the end, mistakes were simply too costly.

The impressions are that we attended a great basketball game. A very good and interesting game," Obradovic noted. "I congratulate the Student Center and my colleague Andrej Zakelj on the top tournament and winning the trophy."

"The game was full of twists and turns. We had the opportunity to bring it to an easy end, but then we made some hasty mistakes in attack and defense. In the end, that 3-point shot brought victory. We had the last attack, but talking about the last attack and defense is not something that is necessary or decided [the game]," the Partizan head coach continued.

Frank Kaminsky had the opportunity to tie the game, but his shot went off the mark. Obradovic believes his new player could have made an even better play.

"It wasn't an improvisation, that pass was one of the solutions. There are always more solutions. He caught the ball and missed the pass. It's an integral part of the game. Let's move on," Obradovic noted.

Finally, the 63-year-old gave an injury update on Mateusz Ponitka, who missed the ABA SuperCup tournament due to a shoulder injury.

"He went through the entire preparation period with us, he has an injury that prevented him from being here. I don't even believe that he will play in the upcoming tournament in Athens, but it is a fortunate circumstance that he still has time before the start of the season," Obbradovic concluded.

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