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Counting blessings amid disappointment
Well, after four Top 16 weeks and four losses in as many games, here I am again, trying and wanting to share with everybody who reads this the feeling of defeat and disappointment. I am not very downbeat when it comes to the defeats, but rather I am very upset with the disappointments those defeats brought along. You see, we've been defeated before and of course afterwards I've felt pain, and anger. But I had never experienced the feeling of disappointment, whether in myself or in my teammates. This time is different, though. After losing to Prokom at home, I wasn't even mad or angry. I just couldn't believe that my presence on the court didn't mean anything to my team, that for the time I spent on the court I couldn't do anything to help my teammates win the game. The Top 16 is probably the most exciting time of the Euroleague season, in my opinion, and it kills me that Efes Pilsen couldn't be a part of that excitement, or bring some of it to its fans, who by the way were simply great at the game against Panathinaikos last week. It's the first time in a while that we are not among the best eight teams in Europe, and it's a very unfamiliar feeling, an unknown territory for the club's management, coaches, players and, of course, its fans. The important thing for us now is that we have to get back on our feet and try to win the rest of our games in the Turkish League and become champions at the end of the season. As far as the Euroleague goes, we always have next year. Hopefully next season we will again be among the elite, where this team really deserves to be. For now, I'm going to kick back and try to enjoy some quality basketball, watching TAU and my very good friend Kaya Peker, PAO and Sani Boy, and CSKA with its master, Papaloukas - all of them butting heads while trying to win the Euroleague championship.
I love my job, I really do. I feel like it's one of the best jobs in the world. Still, it is a job, although some people may think otherwise. What most people see is the money, the travel, the big arenas, the first-class treatment we receive wherever we go. Not too many people know about the stress that comes with this job; the injuries and the effect they have on one's body, both while playing and later in life, the emotional ups and downs caused by one's performances, or about players who never get the chance they deserve for one reason or another. People need to know that for every true star like Scola, Vujcic, and Papaloukas that made it, there's ten Zvonimirs, twenty Onaldos, a hundred Andreas that never made it. Not because they didn't work hard enough, but because the opportunities are limited, as in every business market. Now they're out of a job, with no school diploma in their hands because they dedicated their youth to basketball 24/7; In the best case scenario they can become basketball coaches for youth teams, and in the worst case scenario they end up doing a job they never thought they would. My point is - being a basketball player is no different than any other job. It has its share of pros and cons, of ups and downs, good days and bad days. One difference we have with lawyers and doctors and the average businessman, is that we do not have to show up at work in a suit and tie. We perform the best when dressed in "underwear" and we have thousands of people either cheering us on or yelling at us. I would really like to see a lawyer trying to make a closing statement in a full OAKA stadium with 10,000 Panathinaikos fans screaming at the top of their lungs, letting you know that there's no way they're going home unhappy. Now that's a lot of stress right there:-)...
I feel very fortunate that I was born in 1980, for three reasons: Michael Jordan, The Berlin Wall, and Jugoplastika. First of all, when Michael Jordan started to "re-write" the book of basketball I was old enough to witness it myself, so now I can laugh at anybody who tries to compare today's self-proclaimed superstars to His Airness. Secondly, my country got rid of communism right about my 11th birthday, which was very important for the future of any young Albanian aspiring to do something good with his or her life; itt was crucial to me personally because it gave me the opportunity to dream and aim as high as possible. The fall of the Berlin Wall was what started it all so I feel like I owe a thank you to every person who hit, crushed or contributed to its fall in any way. Last, but not least - Jugoplastika! I grew up watching the “Yellows” (“Zuti”) taking the Euroleague trophy three years in a row to Split, not having the slightest idea at the time that about ten years later I would be a part of that same club. I also had no clue that my future wife would be from that beautiful city, and that after all, I might end up living there. Even after I left the club, Split stuck with me: a Split coach and ex-player, Predrag Kruscic, was the only person who believed in my abilities as a player at the time and gave me that long-awaited chance to be a starter with Pivovarna Lasko in Slovenia. As you can see, there are many things that keep me tied to this wonderful Dalmatian city. My KK Split experience helped me a lot to become the player I am today and I am proud to be able to say that I played in Split, even though only for a year.
The Euroleague Fantasy Challenge has been as good as it gets this year. This week I was finally able to put together the kind of team I wanted since the beginning of the season (Becirovic-Planinic, Acker-Fernandez-Siskauskas-Nicholas, Fotsis-Papadopoulos-Scola-Smodis) and I think I will be able to get a high score. On Wednesday we play Barcelona in Istanbul, and even though we are eliminated, I think it will be a very good game to watch. We will try to get our first win in Top 16 whereas Barca will try to win in order to have a chance of finishing first in the group. I have a good feeling about this game and I hope this will be the one to help us get back on the winning track.
POSTED BY
Ermal Kuqo - Istanbul, Turkey
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