Pablo, congratulations on going to another the Final Four, one year you and Tau made it to the title game of your first. What was harder, reaching Moscow or reaching Prague?

"I think that without doubt it has been much harder this year. Last year, we had the good fortune to win the first playoff game against Benetton and then, with their homecourt advantage broken, the opportunity to decide that series at our place. The situation never reached an extreme moment like it did this time. Playing the third game of the quarterfinals away, and in Greece, was an extreme moment."

People are still talking about Tau's incredible victory over Panathinaikos in that series. What was it like to be part of that comeback victory going against not only a great team but 20,000 fans on their side in Athens in Game 3?

"The truth is that we approached the series going game by game. The first one, we didn't play well, but we still had our chances at the end. Then we came home to Vitoria with the idea that we would play one good game to equal the series, without thinking about the third game. Once the second game was won, we prepared well for what we knew to expect in Greece: a soldout arena, pressure on the referees, and a great team giving the best of itself for its fans. We knew it would be difficult, but I think our team was mentally very strong and withstood all types of pressure. We showed great heart and a strong mentality to win in Greece against all those people and a great team. For them it was a tough blow, but for that reason, I think we are prepared for this Final Four."

Does beating Panathinaikos in Athens under those conditions give your team more confidence than ever now?

"Yes, without doubt. When you play a game like that, under those conditions, and you win, that tells you your team can do something important. The truth is that all four teams in the Final Four have the same potential, which is sufficient to win the title. But that last game gave us a lot of confidence. It told us that we really don't know yet what is our upper limit if we were capable of playing a game like that at so high a level. It gives you calm. And you know now that you can't go to the Final Four like getting there was the prize, but to play the best game we can against Maccabi and try to become champions of Europe."

Tau has gone through two coaching changes since the last Euroleague final, but has shown great mental strength all along. Where does that mental strength come from?

"I think it's important that there is a group of players here that been together for awhile. We lost some great players like Calderon and Macijauskas, and we lost a coach at the very highest level. But there is a group of us who stayed together for this season, and I think we came back more mature, especially after we lost the Spanish League finals the way we did. It made us think more, and we got more mental strength to go with what we inherited from playing so long for Dusko Ivanovic. We have taken maximum advantage of our individual and team skills right up until now."

You became a team leader the moment you took over the starting role this season. What did it do for your personal motivation when you became the starter?

"Last year I had a lot of physical problems with a knee injury that I had surgery for right after the season. So this year was important for me, coming back from that injury and operation to my knee, then working all summer to rehabilitate it. Jose Manuel Calderon leaving left a big hole, and I wanted to do the best I could to guide the team to the high level it had been used to in recent years. My challenge was just that, to do my best as the starting point guard and live up to this team's tradition over these last years. it was a question of responsibility, without doubt, and I am happy at how the season has gone, but the decisive moments are still ahead of us."

Did you know that you are going to Prague with more assists in one Euroleague season than any player ever? Are you proud of that distinction?

"No, I didn't know that. I knew I had a lot of assists and was leading the league at different times. I also knew my assist average was kind of high, but I didn't know it was the highest ever in the league. I am a player who is happy to play for the team, and with those statistics, maybe you can see that, so I am proud of them in that way."

You seem so focused on passing and defense sometimes that you almost have to be told to shoot. But then you hit the big shot at the end against Panathinaikos. Are you always ready to score when needed?

"My idea as a point guard is influenced by looking around me and seeing great players who can score everything. My function with this team is to give them all good shots and find whoever is most open to give them the pass with the right timing. When you have so many great players around, the point guard doesn't need to shoot so much. I have no problem saying they are better scorers than me, but I know that at times it is my responsibility to take the shots, and I am prepared for that. It's not my first option, but when I have to, I have no doubts about taking shots. It the shot goes in or not is another story. But, of course, I am ready to shoot."

Let's talk about your first opponent in Prague, back-to-back champion Maccabi. What do you think about meeting them this time in the semifinals?

"The truth is we have to dance with the ugliest partner, as they say. That wasn't only true in the quarterfinals, but is now the same in the semifinal. Looking past the fact that Jasikevicius, who for me was the best point guard in Europe, left their team, I think that with Solomon have covered that position well. He's a tremendous player. After that, they have much same team as in the last two years, a team that knows what it means to play in a Final Four, and what's more, how to win it. That presents great difficulties for us. For all those reasons, we are playing what I consider to be the top candidate for the title. We have confidence in our game and that we'll wake up on April 28 feeling good, ready to play a good game and surprise them."

What did you and some of the other guys learn from last year's title game?

"Most of us, almost all of us, had never played in a Final Four until last year. I think we played a great semifinal against CSKA, but then maybe the anxiety and lack of experience caught up with us in the final. We were not so calm and sure of ourselves as in the semifinal. And experience gives you that feeling of being there, in the moment. It's not just about having a great team. Maccabi played a great game. We have to learn how to be in the moment like that, to play calm if we reach the final. The anxiety hurt us last year and we have to try not to let that happen this time."

Tau is the best-known club anywhere for recognizing players from Argentina. Is the club followed back there, and would winning the Euroleague title be a boost for basketball in Argentina, too?

"The press from Argentina follows us, here at Tau and in other places around Europe. And there has been a great boom in basketball in Argentina, first with the results of the national team, second place at the Indianapolis world championships and the Olympic gold medal in Athens, followed by the tremendous explosion of Manu Ginobili in the NBA. It still doesn't approach football in Argentina, but basketball has made a huge jump. People are watching us more than ever, watching what we do in Europe. A lot of people will follow the Final Four, and for us to win the Euroleague would keep the basketball boom in Argentina going for sure."