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Busy summer points to great 2008-09 season!
Here comes my second take about the goings-on during what is already a busy summer in European basketball. As some national teams are getting ready for the Olympics, we on the German team are still trying to qualify after the first stage of the qualifier has finished here in Athens. At the same time, all the Euroleague teams - including my own, Joventut Badalona - are building their rosters with anticipation of the the first group stage in the Euroleague. After last week's draw, everyone knows their opponents and is trying to manage their teams accordingly. So the stage is set for a great start to the 2008-09 season here in Europe.
As for the Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament, going on right now here in Greece, I think that the group stage has been a success. The hotel is, as always, a fun place to be, because you get to see old friends and teammates. The German team has a late-night poker game in the lobby and everyone is complaining about the terrible food, just like at every other tournament any summer. It's always a big event, where of course winning takes center stage, but seeing people that you have not seen in a while comes a close second. Once again, the favorites out of every group have come out on top, and with that the European teams have shown their dominance once again. The home team from Greece has been most impressive as everyone probably expected; their full court press and balanced offense has looked almost unstoppable at times. The other two group leaders, Slovenia and Croatia, have also impressed the critics. My team, Germany, started the tournament very well, too. We have shown that we are contenders for the Olympic spots by taking first place in our group, as well; we won our first two games by 20+ points and have earned the right to play a very good Brazilian team in the quarterfinals on Friday to stay alive in this competition. We're still trying to make our newest addition, Chris Kaman, part of the team and are succeeding a little more every game, since he is fast becoming a part of the team, on and off the court. We now have a very good team that is still led by a very impressive Dirk Nowitzki, but has lots of other players who make big contributions to our wins. The only thing that counts this summer is the Olympic Games and we are still working hard on that goal for the next few days. All it takes is two more wins against some of the best national teams in the world to earn a spot in Beijing next month.
First and foremost, the Euroleague has its groups for the upcoming season and I truly believe that we at Joventut find ourselves in a group that gives us the chance to qualify for the next round. Of course, we face European powerhouses like Tau Ceramica, Virtus Roma and Fenerbace, but that is a given in any group. After all, it is the toughest competition in Europe. For me personally, the group has a big treat, as again I will be playing against my home team Alba Berlin. Last year I had the fortune of playing them in the ULEB Cup and now I get to play them again in the Euroleague group stage, so I am thrilled to get another chance to play in front of my family and friends. The O2 World will be ready for next season and will be a special place for Berlin. Most of the professional teams of Berlin will play there and it already has its first major European event scheduled with the Final Four at the end of the season. I hope that it will be a great addition for not only Alba Berlin but also for the city of Berlin.
When I think about the teams competing in the Euroleague this year, of course you have to give lots of respect to the top teams that make it far every year, such as CSKA and Maccabi. But as I play in Spain, I am very interested in what happens in the Spanish ACB. All the Euroleague teams from Spain are really improving their rosters, and with the signing of Juan Carlos Navarro, I truly believe that F.C Barcelona has made some moves to really attack the competition in the Euroleague and the ACB this year. My own team is starting to take shape and with a couple very good signings throughout the last few weeks, we are starting to get a very good group of guys together that will fit our up-tempo style of basketball. In my mind, we will have a great force and on-court leader in our point guards, Ricky Rubio and Demond Mallet, but as it looks we will have lots of quality at all positions and will be able to again play a variety of guys who give us the opportunity to out-compete our opponents.
Well that's it again for today. When I come back next week, I will talk about the three teams that are on their way to the Olympics. Hopefully I will have a ticket to Beijing in my hand by that time!
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