In his first game with his new club, Yogi Ferrell came up trumps down the stretch.
Yogi Ferrell showed his pedigree in first game with Buducnost
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Buducnost VOLI Podgorica knew what it was hoping for when it acquired Yogi Ferrell to be its lead playmaker. And the proven point guard flashed his pedigree in carrying his new team to victory in his first game.
Ferrell’s signing with the Montenegrin side was announced on November 29, and a week later the 30-year-old starred for his new team with 14 points in an 81-83 victory at 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys.
Ferrell played suffocating defense for the first half but really couldn’t get much scoring. But he shined when it counted most, hitting 2 three-pointers and adding 4 free throws in the final 95 seconds.
“We all know who Yogi Ferrell is,” Buducnost head coach Andrej Zakelj said of Ferrell, who also contributed 1 rebound and 1 assist. “Maybe he’s not in the right rhythm, but he only had one practice with us. For sure he has qualities and when we put him in the system and everyone adjusts to him this will be even better.”
Ferrell joined the Montenegro side with five games of experience in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with Panathinaikos Athens and played the last two seasons in the EuroCup with Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana.
Ferrell, who also has 259 games in the over five seasons, had started the 2023-24 season with the Shanghai Sharks.
Ferrell’s presence played a big role in Buducnost finally playing well again in the third quarter. Buducnost had outscored its opponents in the third quarter in its first three games of the season.
But the Montenegrin side was outscored out of halftime in five of the next six games, including 11-22 and 10-26 third quarters.
Against Lietkabelis, Buducnost took the third frame 22-17 to help lay the foundation for the win.
“Our third quarters this year have been really tough so we just wanted to make sure that we came out and shared the ball, played hard on defense and just play off our defense and not think about our offense,” added Marvin Jones, who paced Buducnost with 15 points. “We are really underachieving so we want to get every win.”
Things will certainly be a bit easier with Ferrell on board.