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Thursday, October 16, 2008
 Well, we started the season a little down, losing our first two games in the Adriatic League, before winning the third one against Zagreb here at home. We had some problems with injuries and changing players late, and that makes us kind of a new team still. We brought on two new Americans, lost another player and our captain and starting center, Niksa Prkacin, is out with an injury. We are not the same team without him as with him, for sure, but for sure we plan to be ready to play against Maccabi as strong as we can. Already people are starting here to talk about the game, because a big European team with a big reputation is coming to Zagreb for the first time since last season. We know they are very good and we have to be prepared. During recent years, it's true that Cibona always played much better in Zagreb, and I hope that tradition will continue and we will be the same strong team as the last few years. We can't think that's going to happen without great effort, however, and this year we want to step forward and try to become more competitive as a visiting team, also. Still, there's no doubt we get a lot of confidence playing at the Drazen Petrovic Basketball Center, and I know that our fans have a lot to do with that. I know, because last year I came here as a guest with Unicaja, and it was very clear how tough it is to come here and win. Since we only want to think about the first game with Maccabi, the key now is to be strong and confident at home to get the Euroleague season started right.
About our group, as usual there are a lot of tough teams. It's ovbious that Olympiacos has a really strong team on paper. They have a big budget and have spent a lot of money to get the best roster, and for sure they will be the big name in our group. Also I would mention here my old team, Unicaja, which has a new coach and made some key player changes. I see them as a very, very talented team, and with the great fans and sellout crowds they get for every game. Those two teams are the biggest favorites for me, but of course, Maccabi is another special case, a team that always makes a big name for itself. This year, they have a new point guard in Carlos Arroyo, whom I played against in qualification games to reach the Olympics in Athens. I think he will be Maccabi's team leader so we have to be ready for him. Le Mans and Avellino have pretty much new teams and rosters. It will be interesting to see how they play in a little while. Now, maybe, it's a little early to say something about them, because they are only two or three games into the domestic leagues. We need time to see them and what they are all about, but if they're in the Euroleague, you can be sure they want to take advantage of the opportunity.
And for ourselves, I think we'll have a good chance playing against every team, especially at home. We are not thinking right now about future games, but only playing the first one against Maccabi. It's very important to start well in the Euroleague, because it becomes much easier if you win and get confidence and just play from there. As I said, we didn't start the Adriatic League well, losing the first two games, which none of us expected. But we won a game finally and it will be very important to win the next Adriatic League game, on Saturday against Buducnost, so that we are calmer going into the Maccabi game. If we lose in the domestic league, we will be more nervous than we are supposed to be, so for us to gain confidence we have to win that game and take a strong action approaching Maccabi. We can only hope that Prkacin gets healthy and plays, but if not, we have to try without him.
POSTED BY
Davor Kus - Zagreb, Croatia
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