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4,3,2,1....buzzer! It's money time!
What's up Blog readers!!?? As a basketball fan, you gotta love this time of year! First of all, the winter weather starts to break, and the sun shines a little brighter...Also you have the "meat and potatoes" of the season! The time where every game means that much more, and teams fight for their seasons! one loose ball or rebound or missed free throw could mean the end of your season, while a made shot or defensive stop could save your team's dream! Fans scream and yell until their voices are gone, because they know this might be the last time they get to see their team play in the Euroleague this season. This is the time of the season I LOVE!! Players call it "CRUNCH TIME", or "MONEY TIME"!
Damn, I wish I wasn't injured!
On to the matter at hand! OK, OK, CSKA lost to Macabbi in Tel Aviv... I don't know if anyone was listening after we won the first game, but Coach Messina even said that people shouldn't write us into the Final Four so quickly just because we won by a lot in Moscow. He said they'd be even tougher at home, and that we should expect a fight. Macabbi has a very good team, with pride and heart, and they played like it at home! Their fans are incredible, and they showed why opposing teams have such a tough time in Tel Aviv. Some people say we were "surprised" in Tel Aviv, and that the loss was an upset, because we were the favorites, but going into Macabbi and winning is one of the toughest tasks the Euroleague has to offer, in my opinion... Man, losing in Tel Aviv brought back some harsh memories for me personally. I played with Montepaschi Siena in the Final Four in 2004, at Nokia Arena. Before that we had lost during the regular season there, on a three-pointer at the end of the game from Saras Jasikevicius, who was 0-7 from downtown up until that shot. The, I missed the shot at the buzzer, going for the win... Then at the Final Four we lost to Skipper Bologna in double overtime by 1 point, after which Macabbi went on to win the Euroleague easily.
CSKA didn't play great in Tel Aviv, for sure, but the fact that we had a chance to get back into the game says a lot about the character of our team too! The guys are all fighters, and ready to meet any challenge in front of us! I've been asked if I think that this loss was good and even if it could act as a "wake-up call" for our team... In this time of year no loss is a good one, in my opinion...You want to continue to stay with your "habits"... Winning has become a habit for us, and as all you readers out there know HABITS ARE HARD TO BREAK, and winning basketball games is one habit we definitely want to keep. We'll just continue to work hard, and try harder to concentrate on the things that have gotten us to this point. The fundamentals of defense, and the hard work we always put in. One thing is for sure: Ettore Messina will not rest until his team is ready to play, and win. And even after that, he won't let us rest! :-)
Now the series heads back to Moscow for the pivotal Game 3!! Sounds like a pressure situation, huh!? Well, players live for moments like these. All those times you were in your backyard, or the playground, or wherever, counting down the clock to take the last shot, and win the game for your team...10...9...8...Some players actually thrive under pressure, and play harder, and even better! Pressure time is when stars are born, for real! You can play good in a "pressure" type of game, and be considered a great player! (The opposite is playing great against a not so good opponent in a meaningless game; as far everyone else is concerned, it's like, "So what?". Different people handle "pressure" differently, but I don't think we have "pressure" on us in the traditional sense. The bottom line is that we didn't think about going through the Euroleague season only losing one game. We took every game as it came, tried to handle business for that game, then think about the next one. We looked up, and all of a sudden a 18-game streak happened. One of the reasons we kept winning was because we might have been the only ones in the Euroleague who didn't pay any attention to "The Streak".... We let everyone else pay attention to that, and just kept doing what we knew, to keep improving as a team! And the reason we don't feel pressure now, is because that still hasn't changed. We're still doing what we know works for us, and continuing to grow, and even get better! The difference now is that your intensity level has to increase even higher for a game like the one coming this week! And that's what makes it even more fun, for real!!...7.... 6... I even hear people talk about CSKA not being a good "come-from-behind" team because we're not used to it. Should we be? I think that's a good thing. That means we usually come out, and handle business like coach wants us to, and don't have to worry about coming back from behind. There have been times when we were down though, and have had to come from behind to win. The thing most people miss about the whole come-from-behind thing is this: it's not the scoreboard, it's the control over the game.... Sometimes you can have control of the game and be losing on the scoreboard. More times than not though, if you do have control of the game, as a team, and are losing on the scoreboard, things will turn around, and you'll "come from behind"...5... 4.... I'll tell you this though... Both games on Thursday will be unreal! The excitement will be huge, and the games will definitely be of the highest level! I know we'll be ready to go, and I expect Macabbi will too... 3.... 2... I know I'll be there, with my heart pounding, and my blood boiling. Just like when I was a kid, on the playground, pretending to be my favorite player, getting the ball with the clock winding down, with one chance to win the game for my team... 1... Vanterpool Shoots!...BUZZER.....
Did it go in!?
POSTED BY
David Vanterpool - Moscow
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