Hello, everyone. It is the final conutdown until the beginning of the Final Four, and of course, the excitement just keeps growing. But don't worry, we've got it under control!

From the moment when we qualified for the Final Four, we've played a lot of important games and we did a lot of hard practices. We won the Adriatic Legaue in an unbelivable way! On the opponent's court in front of 16,200 fans we beat Cibona in overtime with an azming three-point basket by Dusan Kecman! Not only for a win, but for the title! We were lucky, but I think we deserved that luck. That victory and trophy mean a lot for our self-confidence and gave a significant contribution to our preparation for the Final Four.

Of all our players, only Kecman has played the Euroleague Final Four previously. For the rest of us, this will be a new experience. The fact is, however, that this year we played a lot of important and tough games. Even if we have a young team, we won two trophies, so I think we are all ready for this new challenge.

The best that European basketball has to offer will be in Paris, and we know that. All four teams deserve to be there, because of their outstanding seasons and quality. Olympiacos, CSKA and Barcelona were favorites for this Final Four at the beginning of this season. It was not the same story for Partizan, but that's the beauty of this game.

Our opponent in the semifinals, Olympiacos, last year lost in... more

Like I sad in my previous blog, our story continues… I had know way of knowing when I started this blog during the playoffs that it would continue into the Final Four. So I can only say, “Let's keep it going!” I could not stop now if I wanted to, because this must bring good luck!

"Where I can buy an extra ticket for the Final Four in Paris?" This is the most fashionable and most important question these days everywhere I go and on every phone I pick up. Fans of Partizan in Serbia and all over the globe are all asking the same thing. To make the Final Four for the first time in 12 years and have a chance to win for the first time in 18 is what inspires them. Everyone would like to witness live this special moment in the history of our club. This, of course, is what inspires us as players, too; the chance to keep this feeling going with our fans and reward them for all their support over the years. No matter how many people can make it to Paris, we are sure that the Final Four will have a great atmosphere and that we players will be hearing the Partizan songs just like at home.

Before we could reach the Final Four, however, we had our fourth, decisive game with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the playoffs. There was big pressure and very, very high expectations. As we were entering the court of Belgrade Arena for the final warmup of Game 4 of the playoffs, you could look around and in each face you saw, there was great hunger for victory. It was the same on court as in the crowd! It was a picture to remember – the whole arena was about Partizan and Serbia, 21 000 people singing like one, generating a feeling that you cannot express with words. Then, at the beginning of the game, the pressure... more

For a third year in a row we are playing in the Euroleague quarterfinals, this time against Maccabi, a constant Playoffs and frequent Final Four participant. Every year, Maccabi builds its team with that ambition.

This year, Maccabi played in a very tough group during the Top 16 phase. In the middle of such strong competition, Maccabi has proven and demonstrated its quality and deservedly reached first place in its group.

We went to Israel aware of our opponent’s strength, but we brought along our ambitions, desires and dreams. In the first game, for the umpteenth time, we surprised the basketball public and made a run. In that game basketball showed one of its most interesting sides: it was the example that if a team really wants to win and doesn't give up that desire, it can still celebrate even if at some moment it was losing by 20 points. Game 2 second was marked by Maccabi's quality.

Now we return to Belgrade Arena, our second home. Personally, Pionir feels more like home to me, but the Arena is the only place that can meet our needs and accommodate all the fans who want to come see this playoff. I had the opportunity to play previously in the match at Belgrade Arena that became part of Partizan and Euroleague history, in which the single-game attendace record in a European club game was broken.

I tried to relate that experience to our new players, in some way to prepare them for what they can expect in the Arena, so they won’t feel pressure. It’s an experience that doesn’t happen often in your career. I think that even without stories from those of us who played previously at the Arena, our teammates will react in the best manner.

I... more

This is my sixth year in Partizan. During that period, I have accomplished almost all the dreams that a profesional basketball player can have. I've learned basketball, played in a lot of finals, won trophies, and been cheered by one the best crowds that you can imagine.

During these six years, many players were part of Partizan. I watched young players grow, improve themselves, become better and, when the time came, leave the club. I very often get the chance now to play against those same players, my ex-teammates. When that happens, during those 40 minutes on the court, it's all about professionalism, while emotions are something that needs to be put aside. After the game, however, everything goes back to the way it was. We are all proud of them, because they represent their new clubs in the best way, with the quality and behavior they learned mostly from their time at Partizan.

Even if this team is known for developing young players, even if for budget reasons Partizan needs to change its roster each year, that does not mean that we don't get results. And all the credit for that consistent performance despite the odds goes to the work ethic and values of our head coach, Dusko Vujosevic.

This season, a lot of new players came to our club. As usual, they had to deal with the expectations that they fit in very fast and take important roles in our game. At the beginning of the season, the public in Serbia put a question mark above the results that Partizan would make this season, in all competitions, but especially in the Euroleague. It takes time for everything, to put everything where it should to be. After bad start to the season, our new team started to show quality and... more