Going to Madrid to win

February 09, 2012

For me, my teammates and for the fans in Siena, it's a great feeling to be going to the Final Four. We knew we could get here if we played well from the beginning of the season. For it all to come together the way it has is great. We're excited and hoping for a chance to win. Everything in this Euroleague season has been great so far. Now, hopefully, we can go to Madrid and get the job done.

I came to Siena because I wanted the chance to win a championship in Italy and then go to the Euroleague. I wanted to play against the best teams in Europe. I wanted exactly this kind of opportunity. We had a good team last year, won Italy and did well in the ULEB Cup, and I knew we would put together a great team this time. To be honest, in one of the first meetings we had this year, before practices started, we talked about team goals and making the Final Four was one of them. We knew that with the guys coming back and what we added, we'd be better and have big opportunities in the Euroleague. Plus we had good guys coming in: Bootsy Thornton, Ksystof Lavirnovic, Vlado Ilievski. I thoguht then we had the pieces we needed and it would depend on how we jelled and came together. The biggest thing with this team has been completely unselfish play. It could be Terrel McIntyre scoring one night, Bootsy another, Lavrinovic, Ilievski or Romain Sato or me.

A big plus for us came when we beat Panathinaikos at home. We played a great game, on defense and on offense, and just played really well as team, played together. That made us believe that if we could beat Panathinaikos by eight or nine, being ahead all game, we can beat anyone. We played CSKA close at their place, too. If I had hit my shots or we had a few less turnovrs at the end, we might have won that one, too. And if you can play CSKA within a basket or two, you take confidence from that. Last year's Italian championship gave us confidence. And having a tough first-round group, playing close or beating some of the top teams, helped our confidence even more.

Winning is something you can get used to, because it's a great feeling and you want to keep doing it. And once you start, you get great confidence. We knew that first group with CSKA, Tau and Olympiacos would be tough, but we thought that we could play with everybody. We got off to a good start in Italy again, then after a few good Euroleague games, we started believing even more, maybe more than the fans and others who came along later. We, the players and staff, believed early on. That feeling kind of rolled over from last year and really hasn't stopped.

Everybody is excited now. For everyone but Bootsy Thornton, it's our first Final Four. We know that if we can go and play great in Madrid, anything can happen. I'm sure we're not the favorite, and that's fine. But we have played against Tau and CSKA, and to try them again, we have to come in and beat a tough Maccabi team in the semis. I don't see why not, honestly. They're tough and we'll have to play great, but if we do, we have as good a shot as any team to win.

POSTED BY

SHAUN STONEROOK - SIENA, ITALY

DATE:

Wednesday, April 23, 2008