Mega Hypo Leasing - Swisslion Takovo (preview)

The last quarterfinal series of the Eurohold Balkan League starts tonight, one week after the other three. The reason is two Serbian teams face each other in it - Mega Hypo Leasing Belgrade and Swisslion Takovo Vrsac - and they were both occupied with domestic games last week, as the Basketball League of Serbia had a mid week round. And they both won their fixtures back then as well as the ones over the weekend after that, hence they enter their BIBL quarterfinal match-up in high spirits.
 
Yet there is a clear favorite amongst those two - Swisslion Takovo. The evidence for that is in the similar relative performances of the Lions and Mega HL in both leagues so far this season.
 
Mega Hypo Leasing have struggled all season in the middle of the 14-team Serbian league table and have sometimes even dropped into the bottom section of it. They are currently in sixth place, after those 2 (already mentioned) wins last week - at home in the capital city derby versus Vizura Belgrade last Tuesday and away at Tamis Petrohemija Pancevo on Saturday. But they are still unlikely to have a shot at 3rd - the place that would have given them a pass into the Superleague, where the 5 ABA participants join in. At 12-11, they have 2 victories less than the teams tying for 3rd - Metalac and Napredak - with just three more games to go for everyone.
 
In contrast, the Lions have already guaranteed themselves the top place finish after the Serbian league first phase and in the second, of course, are going to play in the Superleague, among the Top 8 Serbian teams. The 20 wins and just 3 losses of the team from Vrsac and the 16-7 record of 2nd-placed Borac mean that the 1st place is secured with 3 rounds to spare. The Lions took that 20-th victory last Saturday, at home versus Napredak Rubin Krusevac, while their 19th one last Tuesday was on the road, at Ergonom Nis.
 
The two teams` placings in their Groups of the Balkan League Regular Season have simply confirmed their form shown in the domestic league.
 
Mega Hypo Leasing finished 4th in Group B with a record of 4-4. They could have finished 3rd and thus avoided the clash with Swisslion Takovo in the quarters, if it wasn`t for an unlucky 1-point overtime away loss at the hands of Fersped Rabotnicki. But the pattern of their home-away/win-loss record (2-2-2-2) shows they are quite unpredictable - equally capable of winning or losing versus everyone everywhere.
 
And the comparison once again: the Lions won Group A comfortably, with games to spare too, and with a near perfect record of 7-1. The prowess they have shown this season makes them the favorites not only to win the quarterfinal, but even to triumph in the entire Balkan League competition in its inaugural season. But to do the latter, they have to do the former to start with. So, considering their opponent`s unpredictability, they need to approach their task in the quarters with much attention and concentration in order not to slip up.
 
Mega Hypo Leasing have a very good excuse for their unsteady performances; an excuse that even makes those performances look somewhat satisfactory - they`ve been plaing all season long and are currently tackling the BIBL quarterfinals with a squad full of talented young players. Very young. At the moment the average age of their roster is just 20 years and 4 months, as only 4 out of the 19 players were born before 1989.
 
A player that just 2 weeks ago turned 20 has been the top scorer and the star of the team - Stefan Stojacic. The former chess player and current basketball shooting guard has really taken both his domestic league and the BIBL by storm. He`s been amongst the leading scorers (Top 3) in the entire Serbian league all season (over 20 points per game), as well as netting 16.2 points (including 2.1 treys) per game in the BIBL - how many 19-year olds in Europe have done that? Stojacic is a product of the famed Partizan Belgrade youth academy, but has made his great transition into the senior ranks thanks to joining Mega two years ago. Since last season he has doubled his contribution in points and has become the young team`s go-to guy.
 
Behind Stojacic (in fact - including him) it is a real balanced team performance by Mega Hypo Leasing - there are 4 more players averaging double digit (between 10.3 and 11.9) points per game in the BIBL so far and another four contributing at least 7.5.
 
Of the "double digit foursome" the team can rely on Aleksandar Mitrovic, Uros Nikolic and Strahinja Dragicevic, while Chris Schlatter has left the club, joining Germans EnBW Ludwigsburg in December (the American forward used to be the only import player on the roster). Shooting guard Mitrovic is an 18-year old prodigy, sho has successfully utilized his 200-cm stature to move up to small forward this season. Nikolic is a 21-year old center, who has led the team in rebounds per game (7.3) to add to his 11.3 points. 23-year old power forward Strahinja Dragicevic, another Partizan academy product, didn`t start this season with Mega HL, but in November came back to the team he had already spent one season with and since then has contributed 10.3 points per BIBL game.
 
Among the next four people on the team`s scoring list are Dusan Katnic, Miroslav Markovic and Mladen Pantic, while guard Igor Mijajlovic left in late January to join fellow Serbian BIBL team Radnicki 034 Group. Katnic, turning 20 years old today, is currently the team`s starting point guard and he is just below double digits in points per game (9.9), but more importantly - he dishes an average of 4.4 assists to his teammmates. Forward Markovic is the only player older than 23 on the roster - he is 33 and has added some much needed experience in four BIBL games off the bench. 26-year old center Mladen Pantic is another mid-season addition, coming from Greek team Kavala in January and adding some more experience to the line-up.
 
While Mega Hypo Leasing have recruited Dragicevic and Pantic, in mid season they have also let go of three players - Schlatter, Mijajlovic and Bojan Ljubojevic. The latter, having played just 1 BIBL game for Mega, also transferred to Radnicki 034 Group, but left there too, even before Mijajlovic could join him.
 
The squad of Swisslion Takovo is much more experienced, compared to that of their BIBL quarterfinal foes. Their is one similarity though - the multiple scoring threats. In the Lions` case the spreading of points in the "scoring averages" column is even more striking - there isn`t even one clear top scorer, or go-to man, as is the case with Mega`s Stojacic. Here it`s rather a balanced roster of 12 players that can all hit the target, when they are given enough playing time. And they are all given the time at one point or another, as coach Dejan Mijatovic has utilized a rotation system that gives everyone an almost equal opportunity as well as some rest.
 
Here are the "points scored" and "minutes played" averages in the Eurohold Balkan League Regular Season of 8 of those 12 players (1 of them - a new addition) plus 1 that is no longer with the team, after having played for the Lions in the BIBL too:
 
26-year old shooting guard Radovan Markovic had 13.1 ppg in 28.7 mpg in 7 games.
 
32-year old point guard Sasa Ocokoljic had 12.6 ppg in 26 mpg in 7 games. He also dished 3 assists per game.
 
27-year old forward Branko Jorovic (arguably the biggest name on the team, a signing of last summer) had 12.5 ppg in 26.5 mpg in 8 games. He also grabbed 4.4 rebounds per game.
 
26-year old guard Vladimir Popovic had 11 ppg in 17.9 mpg in 8 games.
 
27-year old center Milos Marjanovic had 8.9 ppg in 18.4 mpg in 7 games. He also grabbed 4.3 rebounds per game.
 
33-year old center Dusan Jelic-Koutsopoulos had 8.5 ppg in 17 mpg in 2 games, after he joined the team back in December. He also led the team in rebounds with a total of 15 in those 2 games (7.5 rpg) before he left for BIBL Group A rival Cherno More last month.
 
31-year old forward Vladimir Vlaskovic had 7.1 ppg in 22.3 mpg in 8 games.
 
29-year old center Dusan Knezevic had 7.1 ppg in 17.1 mpg in 8 games. He also grabbed 5.1 rebounds per game.
 
27-year old American point guard Davin White became the team`s only import player, when he was signed about a month ago. He had 7 ppg in 18 mpg in the 2 games he played in the BIBL since his arrival. He also led the team in assists with a total of 8 in those 2 games (4 apg).
 
From those stats it is obvious that however (if anyone) is destined to topple Swisslion Takovo in the Balkan League will have done really well to overcome such squad depth and quality. The young and enthusiastic players of Mega Hypo Leasing don`t look like it will be their deed, but they will surely try it. The first leg game of the BIBL quarterfinal tie tonight tips off at 18.00 CET at Arena Sumice in Belgrade. The second leg in Vrsac is scheduled for 20.00 CET on Tuesday next week.