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A great year, now onto the playoffs!
"I can't say it was more than I expected or that I was surprised, but yes I was very, very excited and happy that we made it to the quarterfinals. This is a very, very big success for Dynamo since it's in the Euroleague for the first time this year. The only way for us to play in the Euroleague at all this year was to win the ULEB Cup last year. So that was our first target, and we did it. This year we wanted to show to everyone in the Euroleague that we can play with good teams, beat some and compete against anybody. Our first target was to play in the Top 16. In the first half of the regular season, we played so-so, but we got better enough to make it to the Top 16, maybe surprising everybody and maybe ourselves by finishing second in our group. Let's call it a small surprise, but we earned that second place by working hard to get it during the second half of the regular season. We wanted to show our best when it counted, and we did. We got some good victories, especially on the road. The Top 16, of course, was more difficult. You cannot expect anything else with just six games to play and all so important. We were able to get second in our group even though we were seeded first in the Top 16 draw. But we knew it would be a hard job, and after some tough games, we did what we did. The last game with Benetton was quite nerve-wracking, especially in the first half. Knowing that if you win you are going to the quarterfinals, and if you lose you are not, made us more nervous than Benetton was to start. But it was a question of survival in the end. And we survived!
"I can't wait to go to Athens to play against Panathinaikos. To be honest, I enjoy that kind of intense atmosphere that Greek fans give to a game. We played against Olympiacos and against Aris this season, and their fans both support those clubs tremendously. Talk about Euroleague Devotion, those fans have it, and I really like to play in that kind of atmosphere. It's better for me to play in front of 10,000 people cheering against you than a few thousand who are silent or something. It's like a football atmosphere, with all the singing and everything. Of course, it's always better to play at home, but I don't mind at all playing in a loud place like I am sure OAKA is going to be. When we played the ULEB Cup Final in Charleroi against Aris, they must have had 5,000 fans to our 500, but that was fine with me. I think all that energy gets you better motivated. Many players think like me and want to play in places like this. Sure, everyone comes to see the other team, but that makes it a good time to show what you can do, to show your best basketball.
"I have to say something about the success of the teams from my country, Serbia, this season. Of course, I was following my old team, FMP, in the ULEB Cup and was cheering for them to come back in the semifinals against Lietuvos Rytas. I would like to have seen FMP in the final. Losing the first game to Lietuvos Rytas by 11 points made it too difficult, but they tried. I saw the second half of their second game, and a couple times got close, leading that game by nine or 10 points. It's a pity, but they did a great job. Those players are young, 22 and 23 for the oldest ones, so I know for sure they are going to continue to work hard and will have another opportunity. They already won the national cup and finished first in the Adriatic League regular season. And no club loses more players than FMP, because it has a policy of forming young players and letting them move when they are ready. Just in the last few years, you have Mile Ilic in the NBA, Ognjen Askrabic in Lottomatica, Goran Nikolic with Estudiantes, Marko Marinovic in Girona, Dusko Savanovic in Unics, Dejan Milovejic with Pamesa. There are probably more whom I am forgetting. And the club keeps doing well. I think they are up to five or six years in a row winning at least one trophy. So what they are doing works. You can say that FMP is one of the top clubs for young players.
"In the Euroleague, I think Partizan definitely made some big improvements this year by making it to the Top 16, where they had bee trying so long and with so much effort to reach. To see them make it after all that was good. Once they were in the Top 16, they didn't have great luck in some games, particularly in their game in Athens against Olympiacos. They came close to winning that game, and if they had, I think they would have made it to the quarterfinals, which would have been a great success for them. In any case, seeing some of their games on TV, I can say they didn't get to the Top 16 accidentally. They proved they belong, and made progress in every game. I was happy for them because they are from my city and have a big influence. After some not-so-good years in European competition, clubs in Serbia have made some progress this year. Hemofarm was in the ULEB Cup semifinal last year, but new FMP has done the same and Partizan played well in its first Top 16. So that's a big improvement. Maybe next year Serbian teams can go even higher. But for sure this success is already inspiring the younger players, the nine- and 10-year-olds around the country who love basketball so much."
POSTED BY
Bojan Popovic - Moscow
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