Partizan Without Marinkovic and Lauvergne Against Milan

Ahead of the new EuroLeague season’s opening round, Joan Peñarroya sat down with reporters and, instead of previewing his lineup, first had to share two names that will not be on the Belgrade Arena floor on Friday. “Right now, both Vanja and Zofri are out,” the Partizan coach said, confirming that against Olimpia Milano he will be unable to call on captain Vanja Marinkovic or French center Jeffrey Lauvergne.

The game is scheduled for Friday at Belgrade Arena, though sources disagree on the exact tip off time: Hotsport and Max sport report 8:45 pm, while Mondo lists 8 pm. Whatever the case, this marks Peñarroya’s first official test on the black and white bench, and it comes against an opponent that overhauled almost its entire starting five over the summer.

What about Lauvergne?

Lauvergne felt the problem just before the team’s trip to a tournament in Athens and has not trained with his teammates since. According to Hotsport, citing the Basketball Sphere portal, the issue is a calf injury, with the player’s return expected next week. Lauvergne himself did not go into detail about the injury.

“Thank you so much for all the messages, everything is okay. I just took a hard hit. I need a few more days.”

That was how Lauvergne addressed the fans, without specifying which part of his body was affected, a day before a match he will miss.

For Partizan, this is also a question of rotation depth. Without Marinkovic, the perimeter is weakened, and without Lauvergne, the heaviest load in the middle falls on the remaining big men. A roster that changed significantly over the summer now faces a serious depth test right at the start of the season.

The head to head record favors the home side. Partizan leads the overall series 9-8, and in Belgrade it has won five of eight meetings, losing three. Last season the black and whites won 80-78 on their own court, while Milan took the return leg in January.

The visitors from Milan are not arriving at full strength either. Coach Giuseppe Poeta will be without Garrison Mathews, one of the club’s biggest summer additions, who is dealing with a muscle injury. He is the same player whose absence we reported on earlier this week, when Milan announced it would travel to Belgrade without him.

Despite the personnel problems, Peñarroya has not dropped his combative tone.

“We are excited to start the season at home, in front of our fans, and to play our first EuroLeague game against a very good team. Milan have a very talented and experienced roster.”

The Partizan coach said this at the press conference, then added a message for the fans ahead of the first match of the season.

“We want to show our fans that we are ready to fight and be competitive against every opponent. Tomorrow we will have our first chance to prove that,” Peñarroya said.

Asked about possible reinforcements before the transfer window closes, the coach repeated the same answer he has given in previous weeks, without naming a single new target. For now, the subject appears closed, at least until the first round is played.

Partizan takes the floor tomorrow evening two players short in its rotation, against an opponent missing one, but a notable one. Which side handles the season opener better will be clear on Friday evening at Belgrade Arena.