BARAĆ: “A GOOD LESSON FOR MY YOUNG TEAM, AND I HOPE WE’LL COME BACK READY”

The Mega Superbet basketball team was unable to defeat Partizan, and their participation in the Radivoj Korać Cup, held at the Čair Hall in Niš, ended in the semifinals with an 83-63 loss (22:31, 11:18, 18:15, 12:19). Marko Barać’s team fought to the last ounce of strength, playing excellently for most of the third quarter when they halved their double-digit deficit. However, their opponent pulled away in the final minutes of the period. Mega tried everything to get back into the game, but they couldn’t, and their journey to the Radivoj Korać Cup final ended just one step short.

Coach Marko Barać shared his thoughts at the post-game press conference:

“Congratulations to Partizan. They were much tougher and established their style of play, building a game where we couldn’t match them physically. We made 15 fouls, and we couldn’t adjust or understand what a game for a trophy requires. There’s no beauty in this, it’s about toughness. We tried to respond, but obviously not enough. Offensively, we didn’t look for fouls when they were clearly there. What’s obvious is that we were pretty impressed by the atmosphere, and in this sport, there should be respect for big clubs. Partizan is certainly one of the best in Europe, but if you want to beat them, you can’t respect them too much. The fact is that my players play in this kind of atmosphere once a year. Partizan is used to that environment. This is a good lesson for my young team, and I hope we’ll come back ready,” said Barać.

Mega Superbet players will now have a short break before returning to the court in early March for round 21 of the ABA League, where they will face Igokea in Laktaši.

Photo: Dragana Stjepanović/KSS