Getting our attitude back! - DAVOR KUS - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL

Hi again, everyone. Let me tell you, it was quite nice to bring back a trophy to our fans this weekend, the Kresimir Cosic Cup of Croatia! It was really like a double trophy for us, because we won it for the first time in seven years and we won it in Zadar. To win against them and their crazy crowd is worth double! Why did it take so long between cups? For sure, the other Croatian teams are good, and they also prepare for the chance to beat Cibona in one game, which is when they have more of a chance than in a series during the playoffs. So usually they are waiting to try to knock us off. That is why this and a lot of cup tournaments have a lot of surprises. This time, though, we had a great bus ride back to Zagreb and our gym, where our fans were waiting for us. It's always great to arrive home with a trophy to give them. Our coach, Velimir Perasovic, then gave us a day-and-a-half off to clear our heads of basketball a little bit and get rested for everything that's coming now.

The truth is that the first Croatian Cup title in seven years couldn't have come at a better time for us. Of course, this trophy will help us have more self-confidence in both the Top 16 and the important Adriatic League games we have coming up. Before the cup, we suffered a bad loss at home to Fenerbahce Ulker in the Top 16. We certainly didn't feel right that night. Scoring only 55 points at home is not normal. We realized that we didn't play at our top level in that game, and for any win in the Top 16, you have to play at your best level, everyone on the team. Knowing we could have done better that night is what pushed us to play better since then.

The truth is that we had started the Top 16 exactly as we wanted, beating Montepaschi at home. We thought that game would probably be the key one if we were going to have chances until the end of the Top 16. We all know how well Siena has played this year. That was only their third loss all season, I think. After that, though, we started playing worse. We had a lot of small injuries, about four guys who could not practice and couldn't be in their top physical shape for the games. That punishes a team, not having all 10 or 12 players to practice. Losing the next game at CSKA was worse than we thought, even though very few teams ever win their. That and the Fenerbahce loss were different, but not the way you would think. Yes, we lost both, and the loss in Moscow might have been more expected, but it wasn't the way we want to lose. It was the difference between a bad loss and giving everything you have, but still losing. In Moscow, we gave up too early and let the point difference get too big. We can't allow that as members of the Cibona team. Against Fenerbahce, even though we lost at home, it was different because we kept fighting until the end and our attitude was there. Fenerbahce was just the better team that day, but we had the right attitude.

Now, we have to play Fenerbahce again in our next Top 16 game this week. It's a bit strange because usually you don't play the same team twice in a row in Europe. But at least we realize the mistakes we made in the first game and they are fresh in our minds so we can correct them right away in the next game. It's maybe easier in that way not to have to prepare double scouting for the same team again. Also, I think we are all healthy now and we expect to play at our best level. We did everything to win the Cup in Zadar, and now we have to do everything to win in Istanbul. It's really our last chance in the Top 16. It will be tough, for sure, because Fenerbahce is a very good team. But if you want to achieve something big, you expect it will be tough. You have to win big games that take a lot of effort. And you have to be ready. I think that my team is ready.

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DAVOR KUS - ZAGREB, CROATIA