Asvel vs Crvena Zvezda: No Center, Petrusev an Option
Izundu is hurt, Motley is out, Medarevic is not registered: Zvezda visit former center Joel Bolomboy in Lyon, and Filip Petrusev is an option to reinforce the frontcourt.
The Crvena Zvezda flight to Lyon took off on Monday without a single true center, and Asvel are waiting for them tonight at 8 pm. Ebuka Izundu was injured against Buducnost in the ABA League and faces further tests, so coach Ibon Navarro enters EuroLeague round five without a classic five, while a former Zvezda center stands on the other side.
The game is played at the Astroballe arena on October 13. In the meantime the club is scouting the market for a center, and Filip Petrusev is one of the options.
Who plays the five in Lyon?
Under the basket, Zvezda cannot count on three players:
- Ebuka Izundu, injured against Buducnost, awaiting further examination
- Jonathan Motley, not returning any time soon
- Vojin Medarevic, not registered for the EuroLeague, and as things stand his ABA League availability is also uncertain
That means Semi Ojeleye will cover the five spot in Lyon. We already reported that Izundu is not traveling to Lyon, which leaves the paint empty.
A similar situation has come up before. Last season, at the start of the EuroLeague, Jasiel Rivero got hurt and the club reacted at once by signing Donatas Motiejunas. This time there is no such quick fix, so Navarro has to work out how to survive a double round without a center.
Zvezda enter the game in better shape than they started. They opened the EuroLeague with losses to Zalgiris and Hapoel Tel Aviv, then beat Efes, and in the last round won at Dubai 77-58. They allow 73 points per game on average, which is what is left of a defense that struggled in the first two rounds.
What does Asvel bring, and what is missing?
Asvel sit at .500. They opened with a win over Maccabi, then lost to Panathinaikos and Valencia, and in the last round beat Paris 98-96. In several games they allowed more than 90 points.
This summer Tony Parker talked up a team that would fight for the title, but the project quickly ran into money: an Asian investor did not provide the agreed guarantees, and the budget was cut from 59 million euros to 24 million. As a result most of the announced reinforcements fell through. Of that group only Bot Gac arrived, and the biggest names on the new roster are Patty Mills and Jae Crowder.
There is no complete picture under the Asvel basket either. Mathias Dosu-Jovo is out until November, so the starting center is Joel Bolomboy, a former Zvezda player.
Bolomboy, the numbers of a former favorite
Bolomboy plays 18 minutes per game for Asvel, with 3.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and one steal. The number that describes him best is a different one: in four EuroLeague games, over about 74 minutes on the floor, he took ten field goal attempts and two free throws in total. On a team with that many scorers he does not get the ball, he rebounds, defends and switches, which means he will probably not be the center of the offense against his old club.
Still, former players have a way of producing a big night against their old team, and Zvezda will be without an opposing center to go head to head with him. Ojeleye knows him from practice and from a full season together, and the coaching staff surely has everything it needs on him on film.
History favors Zvezda. In the last seven EuroLeague meetings between the two sides, Zvezda won five and Asvel two, and last season Zvezda took both games.
Who is on the market, and what comes after Asvel?
According to unofficial information confirmed by Mozzart Sport, Crvena Zvezda are looking for a center. Navarro said the club is always on the market, like every EuroLeague club, and that options are being looked at. Filip Petrusev is one of them, but a move depends on Dubai coach Xavi Pascual: if he lets him go, Petrusev would put on the red and white jersey for the third time.
The question is not only who arrives, but how many are needed. Izundu awaits further tests, Motley will not be back soon, and Medarevic is not registered for the EuroLeague, so one center may not be enough.
After Asvel comes Paris, who arrive in Belgrade at the end of the double round. Until then Zvezda have only what they brought on the plane: a defense allowing 73 points and Ojeleye at the five.
