Can Penjaroja rejuvenate Partizan?

The Black and Whites are certainly not in good shape, and this match comes after one of their most decisive defeats in the EuroLeague.

Partizan players had a rough time in their game against Žalgiris in Kaunas, where they lost by 41 points—the second heaviest defeat in over a decade, after a 42-point loss to CSKA Moscow.

Because of this, the team from Humska Street will now need to give their best on home court to make up for the disastrous performance in Lithuania.

 

 

It remains a big question how the home crowd will receive them, as in previous games they have often been met with whistles.

Partizan finds itself in a difficult position, currently sitting 15th in the EuroLeague standings. Although there are still many games left in the regular season, the Black and Whites are clearly not in good shape.

The current ABA League champion lost their last two matches against Virtus and Žalgiris, with a combined point difference of 59.

All of this will be the challenge for new coach Joan Penarroya, who will face his premiere home match on Friday afternoon at Belgrade Arena.

The Spaniard, on the day before the game against the “pride of Israel,” shared his expectations and spoke publicly for the first time as Partizan’s new coach.

Penarroya emphasized that he prefers games with higher scores, so it will now be interesting to see if that will be the case against Maccabi.

“Maccabi currently has four consecutive wins and they come in good spirits. What I know is that the situation is what it is. I know what we might face in the stands. We focus most on ourselves. We are trying to improve our game and concentrate on ourselves,” Penarroya said, adding:

“Knowing that the situation has been difficult over the past month, they are working to fix it. I know this team was coached by one of the best coaches in Europe over the last 25 years, and especially considering that he is not just a coach in this city. So the responsibility for someone coming into this position is even greater. As a coach, I will try to be neither better nor worse, but to prepare the team in the best possible way. It is very difficult given the schedule we have, the time to prepare the team, but the players have shown will and desire. I hope that in the future everything will be visible and we will have prepared the team.”

The main challenge, however, is not just this, but how to lift a team that has been in decline for a longer period. Given the current position in the standings, Penarroya will need to start with victories to calm dissatisfied fans and, of course, to bring the Black and Whites back into at least some contention for the play-in spots.

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There are a lot of question marks hovering over the Spanish coach.

This is his first assignment outside of Spain; he previously managed Valencia and Baskonia, with his last club being Barcelona. While he achieved good results with all of these teams, it seems he didn’t quite reach the ultimate goal.

Penarroya is also the first Partizan coach who doesn’t speak Serbian, and after five years, he is the first foreigner to take the helm of the club from Humska.

A big question is how he will be received by Partizan fans, given that the Black and White bench has certainly been the toughest position in the EuroLeague since Željko Obradović’s departure. It’s clear that for this reason, many other coaches declined the offer.

In addition to the new coach, the public also heard from Partizan’s new player, Cameron Payne, ahead of the game against Maccabi. Payne arrived as the team’s new point guard.

“I talked a lot with Dwayne Washington before coming here. I don’t know much about everything yet, we have a new coach, so we are getting to know each other, and that’s basically it. Right now we’re not winning, and that’s all I know. And the fans are excellent, the best,” said the American.

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The first test for the new coach and player is the game against Maccabi, who are well-acquainted with Belgrade, having played matches in the “Aleksandar Nikolić” Hall in the Serbian capital just a few weeks ago.

Since returning to the EuroLeague two weeks ago and heading back to Israel, Maccabi only comes to Serbia when playing against the Black and Whites or the Red and Whites.

Maccabi is on a roll, currently enjoying a streak of four victories, two away and two at home.

Notably, they triumphed in Dubai, marking their first win since the start of the EuroLeague, while the second was against Žalgiris in Kaunas, where, as everyone knows, the Black and Whites struggled significantly.

Maccabi was in a situation similar to Partizan, with Oded Katash facing the possibility of being let go as head coach. However, the players decided to stand by their coach and prevent his departure. Since that moment, the team has been performing better, as reflected in their recent results.

Because of this, Maccabi can certainly be considered a team capable of taking a win against Partizan, although the Black and Whites, playing at home, enter the game as slight favorites. Nevertheless, the team’s current form and morale clearly favor Maccabi.

We can certainly expect an interesting match at the Arena, where we’ll see Partizan with their new coach facing their first major challenge.