Working our way to Berlin - JAKA LAKOVIC - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL

The last time I blogged, my team and I were facing Game 5 of the playoffs with more than a little pressure. Anyone who knows our opponent that night, Tau Ceramica, knows what I am talking about, too. But if I am writing to you again, it's because we aced that test and we're going to the Final Four. With a week to go until Berlin, I can tell you that we at Barcelona cannot be happier. Not only do we feel that we deserve to be going to the Final Four, but I think that the playoffs made us stronger. When I say that, I don't mean just stronger basketball-wise or playing-wise, but also we got a lot more confidence from those games and those comebacks. We were down two times in the series, came back twice, and in the last game we won it. Because of that, we gained a lot of confidence that will help us going forward.

Oddly enough, we are playing Tau again in the Spanish League in a couple days, which will be our ninth game with them this season. It's a very unusual number of times to play a team in a season. In one way, it's good for the fans of both cities and for basketball to see two great team play so often. In another way, after so many games so recently, I don't think anyone would blame us if we were a bit bored. But I don't think that will happen, anyway, because we know that almost every time that Tau lost in the Euroleague these last few years, the team that knocked them out became champion. Since we knocked them out this season, I am hoping that trend continues, so we certainly don't want to lose to them now, not even in the Spanish League!

The fact is that playing Tau will remind us just of the moment when I think we all got the extra confidence that we need to win the Euroleague this year. That's exactly what happened when we broke through and beat them in Game 2 of the playoffs. I'll remember that as the crucial turnaround in our confidence. We had lost to them several times before that, including in Game 1 of the playoffs on our court. Here in Barcelona, everybody had doubts - the fans, the newspapers, everybody - as to whether Barça could beat Tau this season. When we won Game 2, it not only erased those doubts, but showed something very important: we were still improving, still getting better. We gained a lot of confidence that day, not just us, but the people in Barcelona, the fans. Game 2 was when the momentum turned in the series, and I am sure it was the reason that we are going to the Final Four.

There's another reason that our ninth game with Tau is good for us: because I think the best way of preparing for the Final Four is to keep playing. It's tough not to the think about the Final Four, but the fact is we have to keep concentrating on our domestic league games before Berlin, because the Spanish League is so competitive and we are fighting for playoff position there, too. We saw what homecourt advantage meant in the playoffs and we want that in the Spanish League, too. At the same time, concentrating on these domestic games means we are doing the things we have been doing all year, namely fighting and competing. We are used to playing two or three games a week, so keeping that rhythm will help us keep doing what has been good for us until now. We are keeping our team in a competitive mode. We don't have time to relax our minds and lose the competitive grip we have had all along. I think that is good. I think it's how you maintain your competitiveness and sharpness. In the end, we will still have time to prepare for the Final Four, but I know that when we get there, we will be game-sharp.

This will be my second Final Four after 2005 in Moscow, when I was with Panathinaikos. I remember it was a great Final Four, too, with four more excellent teams. Of course, I remember clearly losing in the semifinals against Maccabi, who were the champions at the time and the best team in Europe. But most of all I remember it as my first experience at the Final Four, not knowing the situation before I came. It was unlike anything I had been to before because of all the attention paid to the Final Four. I can say that I was nervous because of that being my first time. I think now that, having been through it once and had that experience, I am sure to be more relaxed this time and take it like any other tournament. I can't wait to get there, but I am relaxed and taking things as they come between now and next week, when we will arrive in Berlin ready as we've ever been!

POSTED BY

Jaka Lakovic - Barcelona, Spain