Onward and upward to the Top 16!

May 25, 2012

Dusko Savanovic - Power Electronics Valencia

Hello again! This is Dusko Savanovic of Power Electronics Valencia. Did you miss me, Euroleague readers? Well, I missed you! My last blog entry came late in the World Championships. You know what happened since then - Serbia finished fourth and my new Turkish Airlines Euroleague team, Power Electronics Valencia, overcame a slow start to make it to the Top 16! I have to say we were not very lucky in the beginning - we had a lot of injuries and the calendar was horrible, playing against all the big names in Spain and Europe. I don't want to cry about it, but it's true that we had a tough start in both competitions. We were really struggling as a team, physically and mentally. We had a 1-6 start in the ACB and 1-4 in the Euroleague, but then we changed coaches, all the injured players came back and we started to believe in ourselves as a team. With so many new players, we also needed to adjust to each other in the beginning. That said, however, I wouldn't change the last two months for anything; the team has been winning and everything is great for me in Valencia!

The fact is that our new coach, Svetislav Pesic, did not make big changes, but took care of a lot of small details. We haven't signed a new player until this week - welcome, J.R. Giddens! - but those small details made the difference for us, in addition to the fact that we finally had a fully healthy team, with everyone back in action. We didn't believe in ourselves, being a new team, really early in the season. Coach Pesic has shown us that it is possible to beat anybody and has helped us to function well as a team. It looks simple, but it wasn't. Perhaps the turning point for us was our road win against Panathinaikos. Coach said in the press conference after the game that it was possible to make it to the Top 16 because everything was possible and we could beat anybody. We hadn't earned our opponents' respect until that moment. We managed to beat everybody but CSKA from then on - and made it to the Top 16!

A key play in that game is one that I am reminded of very often - a missed dunk in crunch time that went in for me anyway. I don't know what happened! There I was, all alone going for the dunk and the ball slipped away, I don't know how! The ball went in, and that is what matters. I cut my finger on the rim and needed stitches after the game. I am happy the ball went in, because if we had lost the game and failed to reach the Top 16, it would have been a missed dunk remembered by everyone for YEARS! Again, it went in, and that's the end of the story... We had a do-or-die battle against AJ Milano that we survived. We controlled the game pretty well, Rafa Martinez was amazing and we never gave Milano the chance to put us into trouble. All the self-respect and confidence we needed was there at the right time. The game was not played in Milano and the lights went out in the middle of it, but despite those distractions, we knew that no matter what, we could get back home with a win. We controlled it from the very beginning and there was no way on Earth we would lose.

And, of course, we finished the regular season in style! What a shot, huh? I guess you saw it already (if not, click HERE). The fact is, I made a lot of mistakes in the last 2 minutes of that game, and we were lucky to have a final chance to win it. Our coach wanted us to play one-on-one offense late in the game but I made bad decisions and didn't do what we was expected of me. If I had done everything I am supposed to do, maybe we would have won the game earlier. But it happened that way and I cannot complain about it! Winning a Euroleague game with a last-second shot in a big highlight in my career. Maybe our opponents, Union Olimpija, were expecting an alley-oop attempt, or a two-point shot... or if they expected a three-point shot, perhaps they were more worried about Rafa Martinez or Victor Claver. They didn't switch well and I was wide open, but a little bit far away. My Montenegrin friend Omar Cook inbounded an excellent pass to me and I shot wide open from something like eight meters. I did't have time to think, just to take the shot right away. What happened, happened, and it was great. Take the shot, hit it, boom! And the crowd goes wild.

That is why I decided to join a Euroleague team this season - to experience something like this. I expected all this - playing on historical courts, against the best teams in Europe, to be an important player on a Top 16 contender like Valencia. I really wanted to test my skills against the best teams in Europe, and that can only happen in the Euroleague. It is beautiful to play against teams like Efes Pilsen, Panathinaikos and CSKA. People were scared in the beginning, right after the draw, but I wouldn't have changed my regular season group for anything in the world. We now have a tough Top 16 group with Olympiacos, Fenerbahce Ulker and Zalgiris. We will play against Valencia's former coach, Neven Spahija, and against my national team coach, Dusan Ivkovic. What's not to like about it? It is going to be a nice battle. It has been a beautiful Euroleague season so far and we want to continue playing the way we have been lately.

I hate the weather these days... It's just 25 degrees, always the same... I have to wear sunglasses all the time... Every time I open the window, the sun and the fresh wind messes my hair... Just kidding!!! I LOVE it in Valencia, the weather is beautiful, outstanding! Like I said, it's 25 degrees in January! I have to walk around in shorts because it's too hot to wear long pants. Valencia is beautiful and that helps us to be full of energy all the time. After two winters in cold Kazan, Russia, you really get to appreciate something like this in January. This kind of weather has to keep you in a good mood. We have great fans in here, who give us excellent support, even when we lost so many games at the beginning of the season. I cannot thank them enough! They can be sure I will give my best until the season is over!

So, expect more blog entries from now on! More and more players are blogging these days, even my man Miroslav Raduljica of Efes Pilsen has his own. Watch out, man, the competition is hard! As for you Euroleague.net readers, thanks for everything. You will hear first-hand information from me right here during the Top 16, and I will try to keep it interesting, no question about that. See you next time!

POSTED BY

Dusko Savanovic - Valencia

DATE:

Friday, January 14, 2011