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Wednesday, 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 need to explain what a great team it is. Lots of their players have been together for seasons and they are aiming at as high a level as ever. Real Madrid will be our first guest at Pionir Arena. In my opinion, theirs is a team built to play at the Final Four. Let's see what happens. Panionios deserves lot of respect because they reached the Euroleague playing in such a hard competition like the Greek League. During summer they completed the roster with players they missed and with coach Aleksandar Trifunovic, who we know well and who knows us, too. Milano failed in the Euroleague last season, so they are motivated to show they deserve a place in this competition. Teams like Milano could be very dangerous to everyone.
Shortly before the Euroleague starts, we were concentrating on our first road game with Efes Pilsen in Istanbul. I dissected "The Brewers", as we like calling Efes Pilsen, due to their sponsor's name. They have a totally different roster compared to last season. One new face is our pal Milos Vujanic. I spent almost a month-and-a-half with him this summer in the national team's EuroBasket 2009 qualification campaign. Don't ask me what kind of player he is. Hellish!
Alongside of Vujanic, there are new faces like Bootsy Thornton (we struggled hard with him last season, when he was in Montepaschi), as well as Charles Smith from Real (he is our old acquaintance too), Shumpert, Guler, Peker, Kasun from Barcelona... I am writing those names understanding one more time what a great team Efes is. Everything but them winning would be a miracle, but we believe in miracles. All we have to do is our best, to try and play without pressure. And to hope. If you believe, you can make your hopes come true. I believe.
POSTED BY
MILENKO TEPIC - BELGRADE, SERBIA
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