By Antigoni Zachari/ info@eurohoops.net
Mornar Bar went on with the signing of the season in ABA League when they announced the acquiring of Bobby Brown in early November, a jackpot of all sorts for both sides. Mornar now has a leader, while Brown now has a team that can redeem his assets.
November 11th – Bobby Brown greeted fans in the coastal city of Bar in southern Montenegro with a 25-point performance against this season’s Turkish Airlines EuroLeague contestant Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. A few days later, the club claimed its second 7DAYS EuroCup victory after four consecutive defeats as Brown made his EuroCup return. The 34-year-point guard is back in action, and we can expect his experience and leadership to guide Mornar in rough waters.
“Yes, that’s the plan, to help this team as much as I can in order to make the next round of the EuroCup,” Brown told Eurohoops.
Following his stint with Olympiacos Piraeus during the 2017-18 season, Brown entered free agency with a bittersweet taste. Playing alongside Vassilis Spanoulis was one of the highlights, but Brown was aware that the team’s rotation was already set and there was not enough space for him to showcase what he can really do on the court. He understood that as a hard truth of joining a team in the middle of the season, even for a player of his range.
“It’s OK. Everything happens for a reason, and I have nothing but big respect for Olympiacos,” he says today.
A few months into the new season, the opportunity for Brown to show his skills came from Mornar, a team that is testing its limits in the 7DAYS EuroCup. Playing in the competition for the first time, the Montenegrin club holds a 2-5 record and strives for a spot in the Top 16. That would be a historic achievement, but is also a major challenge for a team of young talents, which is where Brown comes in.
This do-or-die race sounds like the perfect stake for a veteran like Brown. With three games to go in the regular season – and possibly three wins needed for Mornar to survive Group D – the 2013 Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy winner in the EuroLeague will have to incorporate himself in the existing rotation rather fast. As tricky as this may sound, there is a difference compared to his time with Olympiacos last season. Mornar was looking for a leader to rely upon in its new journey in Europe. Brown is up for the challenge.
“I think we have a chance to make it,” he says. “We just have to take it one game at a time.”
rown’s signing by Mornar feels like some sort of justice, if we take into consideration that, besides Olympiacos, he was not active in the rotation of the Houston Rockets, where he spent parts of the last two seasons, either.
His time in Houston might have not been too productive – he played just 115 minutes there – but it was certainly beneficial, given how much credit Brown earned for his work ethic and effort from teammates, coaching staff and fans.
The stakes are high in Wednesday’s battle against Unicaja Malaga on the road and Mornar can only hope to bounce back from a Round 3 loss in Bar to the 2017 champions order. Any win can be the crucial one now for Mornar, whose players will look to Brown to lead them as far as they can go.