Finals, Game 1 preview: Sigal Prishtina or Rilski Sportist to make the first step to the trophy

On Tuesday evening Prishtina will host the first game of the Finals in EUROHOLD Balkan League season 2014/2015. The local KB Sigal Prishtina is welcoming BC Rilski Sportist at 18.30 hrs local time and without any doubt the gym will be more than full.

Both teams reached the Final after coming through quarterfinals and then upseting the Second Stage group winners at the semifinal. They have already met and Sigal won convincingly both games. However it won′t count for anything now as playing in the Final is something else and the mindset is different.

On the point guard position for Sigal we′ll have Jordan Hulls and Demontez Stitt sharing playing time and the two can also play together but not for long. Hulls didn′t start the season well but in the last few months he is playing very well and is important for the team. Stitt came later and is a quality addition as he surely has a lot to offer. Against them Rilski will put the experince of Yordan Bozov and the youngster Julian Norfleet. They will share the point guard position and may also see some playing time together. Both of them are players that can hurt any team but perhaps Bozov′s performance will be important as his experience will be very valuable.

Of course Dardan Berisha is the biggest star of the home side and the top scorer in EUROHOLD Balkan League. His performance will be the one that will tell a lot for the outcome and against him Rilski will put Vernon Taylor. He is not as consisten as Berisha but on a given night can hurt badly each team. His energy is important for his teammates and he will look to bring it in Prishtina.

Edmond Azemi and Zlatin Georgiev should be in the starting line-up for their teams and their role will be to play good defense and perhaps score some three-pointer. Julius Coles for Sigal and Lubo Kirov and Aleksandar Milov for Rilski are other players for the wing positions but their time on the court perhaps will be more limited.

The fight under both baskets will be very important for the outcome of both matches. Edin Bavcic is having a great season for Sigal and is a key factor. Since his addition Julian Mavunga is also playing good and the role of Bojan Trajkovski coming off the bench is very important. The veteran Blerim Mazreku also is sitting on the bench but can enter and do well if called up. On the other side Zarko Rakocevic is very important for Rilski′s performance. When he plays well, so does the team, so this is the time he will have to show up. Tony Gugino and Simeon Iliev will be sharing the time at position 4 and also have an important roles in this contest. Todor Todorov is the one that will give Rakocevic a rest but most likely won′t get a lot of time.

A great atmosphere is to be expected in Prishtina and a full gym will wait both teams. This certainly will help a lot the home team but the visitors will try to play their game and to use the fans as motivation. The game is at 18.30 hrs local time and will be broadcast LIVE on DigitAlb/Supersport, BNT World and Sportmedia.tv.