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March 19, 2009
 What a great feeling to be together with you in March! What a nice opportunity to write to all of you again. Let me be honest: writing my previous blogs I tried to describe to you part of the atmosphere in Partizan and around the club. And I often likened it to a nice dream. Now, at the end of March, I feel like I am still dreaming, but I am afraid somebody could wake me up. A dream: that is the right word to describe my feelings to be a part of the Euroleague Playoffs again.
I was too happy when we reached Top 16 so I have no words to describe this kind of happiness. Before the Top 16 began, we were chatting in the locker room and somebody said it would be so nice to secure a playoff spot before the final game, against Lottomatica in Rome. In that case, we would go to the famous Fontana di Trevi in Rome and drop coins in the water for further luck. We all were laughing and few believed in it, but our wish was fulfilled. It was not easy, especially after our Top 16 started with a loss in Athens. After that there were two home games, which I believe they were key for us. We managed to beat Lottomatica and Unicaja and next came the Serbian Cup, which we also won.
In our best mood, we then traveled to Malaga ready to make giant step to the Euroleague quaterfinals. And we did it! Later we were met by something incredible. Our fans welcomed us to Belgrade airport, which was just a taste of the real celebration. By that I mean our...
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POSTED BY
Milenko Tepic, Belgrade
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February 2, 2009
 It is real pleasure to talk again with all of you fans after we finished first phase of the competition with success. There were a lot of thrills during the regular season of the Euroleague. From the very beginning, armed with our experience from last season, we were motivated to play at the highest level. Our task was to play good enough to catch a chance to continue our fantastic Euroleague story from the previous season - and to provide six more great nights to those who shared both joy and sadness with us - our true fans. I think we played consistently good all the time this regular season, even though there were dramatic victories in the last seconds just as there were losses at the buzzer that made us all sad and angry. But all the time we believed in ourselves and the result was that we won almost all of the important games, including one with CSKA in Moscow. That was the incredible performance that opened our door to the Top 16. But victories in sport last as long as news in the papers - only for one day.
The last days of December and first one in January were a time for celebrating holidays, but we players had less time for relaxing. Of course, we had some brief time to see our families and other persons dear to us, but in Partizan, it is kind of a tradition to spend the holidays together. It is part of our relationship and I am sure everybody can see that with our chemistry on the court. It makes me happy to...
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POSTED BY
Milenko Tepic, Belgrade
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October 22, 2008
 We started the new season playing in Adriatic League with the same goals we have always had - to win trophies. That obligation exsists because of everything we did in previous seasons. We are champs and we learned to think like champs. And the start was furious. Four games - four wins. Sounds nice as prelude to our first Euroleague game. But the fact is that it was not easy job to beat Krka, Helios and Zadar as hosts and Hemofarm on the road. We struggled hard, there was overtime with Zadar, a buzzer-beater to beat Hemofarm... I am sure that this is very beginning and that everyone will soon see the right face of Partizan.
Those Adriatic League games were just a prologue for the most important competition - the Euroleague. I am happy we shall open Euro fire unbeaten but we all are aware of how the next few months will be. Our fans expectations are high as ever, but our group is heavy-duty one. Partizan has a bunch of new players, we are together almost a month and our starting guard Uros Tripkovic was injured for four weeks. That makes our situation complicated. We showed some weakness so far and we do believe it is possible to overcome it practicing. And with a help from our fans, too.
This one heavy group we are heading into. CSKA, Real Madrid, Efes Pilsen, Panionios, Milano: look at those names and you'll see clearly what kind of job is in front of us. CSKA is Euroleague champion and there is no...
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POSTED BY
MILENKO TEPIC - BELGRADE, SERBIA
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October 1, 2008
 This summer, I spent 82 days with the Serbian national team, preparing and playing qualification games for EuroBasket 2009. At the end of that time, head coach Dusan Ivkovic told me that he was extremely satisfied with my contribution, and I am very pleased because of that. I worked a lot during recent seasons and I must say that my Euroleague experience was extremely helpful in reaching this point. I see the challenge of playing in the Euroleague again this season as a special prize to Partizan for having won the Serbian League, Serbian Cup and Adriatic League trophies last season. The Euroleague is the most elite of competitions and offers another chance for all of us to prove ourselves and our place in the company of Europe's biggest clubs. It's an opportunity to make our childhood dreams come true and to give joy to our faithful fans.
Partizan, of course, has been a Euroleague competitor for years. I remember last season for the excellent atmosphere and energy that pushed us to reach the Top 16 and then the Quarterfinal Playoffs and then within one step of the Final Four. Nobody predicted success like that for us. Compared to last season, our team has changed a lot. Our main weapons from that team moved this summer. Nikola Pekovic and Dusan Kecman opted for the color green and will wear the Panathinaikos uniform this season, while Milton Palacio moved to Khimki of Russia. I know that we cannot replace them...
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POSTED BY
Milenko Tepic - Belgrade, Serbia
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