By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
In the EuroLeague Round 29 clash against Olimpia Milano, in a game full of emotions, Dzanan Musa performed his second-best scoring performance of the season with 27 points. In Round 30, another Italian team will be faced by Real Madrid, and the Bosnian leader is ready to make another statement.
The former Rio Breogan player, who was named ACB League MVP in the 2021-22 season, when he took up his career after a disappointment with Anadolu Efes, is by far the main offensive option in Chus Mateo’s team, and he has scored in double-figures in 12 of his last 13 games.
Leading the Blancos with 15.5 points per game, the highest among the Spanish team, shooting 59.3% from two, 40.3% from beyond the arc, and 87.1% at the line, the 23-year-old Bosnian forward, who is playing a lot as ball-handler as well, talked about his role in an interview with Eurohoops.
“I’m just doing what the team needs me to do, whatever the coach wants me to do. This year my job is to score so I’m trying to be aggressive to the basket, to find my teammates, and to get the right decisions on offense every game. Whatever the coach needs me to do, I’ll do it”, Dzanan Musa said.
After being named Round 29 MVP following his career-high performance in PIR (38), he has been pushing Real Madrid to the 2nd place in the EuroLeague standings with a 20-9 record, already qualifying for the playoffs.
Despite being the leader of the Blancos, he believes the successes are coming thanks to the team’s effort in a locker room full of knowledge. “Every player on this team is very experienced, so I’m privileged to play with Real Madrid. I would not say that somebody, in particular, is doing something better than others. Experienced veterans like Rudy, Chacho, and Sergio are pushing everybody else to embody that Real Madrid mentality”, he added.
To help the reigning ACB champions win their second straight EuroLeague game against Italian teams, Dzanan Musa will surely play better than in the reverse fixture with Virtus Bologna, when the black-and-white side won 95-91 on the road.
On that occasion, the Bosnian scored only points with 1/6 from the perimeter. Real Madrid’s number 31 remembered their opponents’ main weapons. “Virtus Bologna is a great team overall. They have great shooting guards and guys in the paint. It’s not easy to play against them, they have players who can provide points in the low post. We have to be ready because they are still fighting for the playoffs, to make as much as possible in these five games. We are going there to take home the victory, that’s our main goal in each game”, the former Brooklyn Nets player commented on Virtus.
Following the journey in Italy the day after Virtus Bologna’s announcement about their new Segafredo Arena which will be inaugurated at the beginning of 2025, Real Madrid will play against Fenerbahce, Partizan, Bayern Munich, and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the last four EuroLeague matchups.
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Those will be demanding encounters in order to earn the home-court advantage in the EuroLeague playoffs, trying to get back to the Final Four after losing in 2022 against Anadolu Efes. “We are going game by game. Right now we are focused on Virtus Bologna, and then we will think of the remaining games. Each of those teams is dangerous, they all have equipped rosters to compete in the EuroLeague”, Dzanan Musa said.
“Talking about Fenerbahce and Partizan, which are respectively fighting for the 4th spot and the playoffs, having great home courts, it will not be easy. I think that taking it day by day is the best thing to do”, he went on commenting on the Turkish team and the Serbian side that Real Madrid will respectively face at home and on the road in Belgrade.
Finally, the 23-year-old Bosnian leader praised his Capeverdian teammate Edy Tavares, who has been inserted once again by the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague among the Best Defender candidates. “I would say that we play with the best center in Europe Edy Tavares, and it’s very good to have him as a rim protector. It’s good to rely on him on offense as well. The Defensive Player of the Year for sure should be Edy, who deserves it the most. And I’m not saying this because he’s my teammate: in the last five-six years in the EuroLeague, he has been the best there”, the former Rio Breogan player added.
If Edy Tavares is his choice for the 2023 EuroLeague Best Defender, after winning his award already in 2019 and 2021, Dzanan Musa picked somebody out of Real Madrid for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP. “Talking about the MVP, the impact that Sasha Vezenkov has had is unbelievable, so he’s surely the favorite to win it”, Real Madrid’s leader spoke about Olympiacos‘ superstar.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague