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Great basketball, even for Greeks!
As I go to Madrid for my first Final Four, I just say that I feel like we have two countries supporting CSKA. That's because many people in Greece are supporting us, too. Greece this year has no other representative for the Final Four, so I have heard that many of them, some in Madrid, will be cheering for CSKA. I would say that some of them will do so, of course, because I and Theo are on the team, and we are the only Greek players in the Final Four this year. But also I think that there are Greek fans of CSKA as a team, because they enjoy the way this club plays good basketball. There may be other Greek fans who want one of the other teams because they'd like to see a new team as champion or they want to be with the underdog. That is part of sports, too. But when ticket sales closed a few months ago, I heard there were a lot of Greeks that bought first, and I think that many will go now and be for me and Theo. First, it's easy to go because of the May 1 holiday, when nobody is working all around Europe. Second, Madrid is a beautiful city. And third, they will see high-quality basketball games, which is nice for true Greek fans even though their own teams aren't there. It might be even better, in a way, since they will go with no pressure or nervousness. It's a neutral place for them and there is going to be great basketball, no doubt!
We have played Tau Ceramica two times and beat them this season, but I wouldn't say that is so important now. As with the playoff series against Olympiacos, for sure we have a better idea of our opponent from playing them twice this season. But you can't compare two regular season games with a semifinal in the Final Four. It's completely different, psychologically different, in a neutral environment and so on. And anyway these teams and players all know each other. Even if we were playing Maccabi for the first time, we would know a lot by scouting them well beforehand. The coaches will analyze the opponent, choose a focal point, a game plan, strengths and weaknesses, and we'll go from there, not looking back to the old games. So it's not so significant that we played in the group before. If I remember, we beat them in Vitoria back in November with four of our best players out, so of course this game will be different. That game is history, and even if we had lost, it would not be important. This is all about the semifinal and the chance to keep playing for the title.
I think that Pablo Prigioni and Zoran Planinic are for sure a great point guard duo because they complement each other so well. They are different kinds of players. Prigioni is a guy who organizes perfectly the rhythm of his team. In my opinion, he is one of the best passers in Europe over the last 10 years. He first wants to pass and then score. For sure, the special tandem he makes with Tiago Splitter is one of the things we need to be ready to defend and focus on for 40 minutes. That pick-and-roll they use opens many things for their team. Planinic is a complete player who can attack in many ways and is one of the highest-quality combo guards in Europe. He can penetrate, he likes the transition, he shoots, he can go one-on-one. He's a player who can make a difference for his team in many ways. But I think that even when we talk individually about players, all fans should understand that first of all, it's about the teams, how prepared and concentrated they are together. Everyone knows what the players can do, but more important is how the teams are ready tactically, how much passion and determination they have, and how ready mentally they are to play to big 40-minute games. It is not easy to describe that challenge in words. It's a big task for everybody.
Everybody is telling me that the Final Four is a completely different thing. It's like a basketball celebration. Especially the first day, with fans from all four teams in the stands, and all still having a chance to be champion, will be exciting. Traditionally, I guess, Maccabi will have the most fans, like always. They remind me of the Greek fans, so loud and always following their team wherever it travels. Of course, we will also have our fans from CSKA, who will be as many as possible, and will help us with the noise they make. It's always nice to have a group of fans, even if they are in the corner of the gym, supporting you. When you play this game, maybe they can be a little influence over 40 minutes, like any small thing on offense or defense. Our task is to be extremely ready for the first game on Friday and see what happens after.
POSTED BY
NIKOS ZISIS - MOSCOW, RUSSIA
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