On Wednesday, as part of the group stage of the WINLINE Basket Cup international tournament, Serbia’s FMP will host Russia’s Lokomotiv-Kuban.
FMP (Serbia) – Lokomotiv-Kuban (Russia)
Time: 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. Moscow time)
Location: Belgrade, Serbia, “Železnik” Sports Complex
Broadcast: Kinopoisk
FMP: The Serbian team from Belgrade is making its Cup debut but is heading into its first game in excellent form. Just yesterday, in the opening round of the Adriatic League, Sasha Nikitović’s team pulled off a major upset by defeating the defending champion and top EuroLeague club, Belgrade’s Crvena Zvezda at home (90–89). The coaching staff has successfully integrated recently acquired guard Vukasin Mašić and veteran point guard Nikola Rebić into the team. Riding the wave of this success, FMP is aiming to secure its first victory in the WINLINE Basket Cup.
Lokomotiv-Kuban: The Krasnodar club, led by Serbian head coach Tomislav Tomović, enters the tournament as one of the favorites in Group B. The team plans to redeem itself for its performance in last year’s Cup, when it failed to advance to the Final Four. The Russians have also gotten off to a great start this season: they’ve won both of their opening games in the VTB United League (against Enisey and MBA) and put in a strong performance in the SuperCup, where they reached the final for the first time in their history and won silver medals.