Leo Westermann on Buducnost: “They play tough” 0

Having just reached the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, Zalgiris didn‘t take too long before testing out the rims in Moraca Sports Center, where they had their first practice before Friday‘s matchup against the local Buducnost.

Leo Westermann took the time to talk to Zalgiris TV about the upcoming matchup and playing in the Balkans overall.

“We’ve had plenty of time to prepare for the game, with a couple of practices behind us. It is going to be a very important game for us, as Buducnost is a team that is in up to our standards and one we can compete against. It’ll be very important for our future to win here.”

Buducnost competed in the Eurocup tournament last season but fought their way to the EuroLeague with an unexpected victory in the Adriatic basketball league finals, where they defeated Crvena Zvezda despite an underdog status. Leo Westermann was adamant that despite not having won any of their opening five games, the Podgorica side is a very tough opponent that must be duly respected.

“It’s a tough team. They defeated Crvena Zvezda to get into the EuroLeague tournament and that by itself is a great achievement. You know, they play with that Montenegrin, Serbian mentality – they play tough and won’t let you take anything for free. It’s difficult every possession. It will be a tough game.”

Westermann, who’s had a hands-on experience with Balkan basketball playing for Partizan in 2012-2014, said that the loud crowd is a very important part of the teams’ play.

“The crowd is a very big factor. Even in here you can see that the seats are right behind the bench. The arena might be small but it’s going to be very noisy. It’s very important for this team to have the crowd behind them and our task is to stop them from getting into the match easily.