No Valentines from Valencia
Hello again! I am Dusko Savanovic of Power Electronics Valencia. I last wrote to you Turkish Airlines Euroleague fans a month ago. Obviously, a lot has changed since that blog entry. We faced a very strong month with tough games here and there. Nothing really crucial happened, but there were a lot of interesting stuff going on. We travelled a lot and had a tough schedule, including the Spanish Copa del Rey weekend. It was, as always, a beautiful experience for everyone, especially for those who had not played in it before. We beat Valladolid, lost against Real Madrid and that's about it. We could have done better but you cannot plan everything to be perfect. Of course, we want to win every game and were disappointed to lose against Madrid, but overall it was a good experience. I met a lot of good friends in Madrid, the basketball atmosphere was great and everyone was happy to be there. I cannot even begin to imagine how a Final Four will be, but I am willing to find out, if possible, this season!
In the Euroleague, of course, we are 1-2 in our Top 16 group. Fact is, we had a very good start of the Top 16 against Zalgiris at home. I felt well, my teammates helped me have a good game. The next game we played against Olympiacos in Athens was very exciting for me, because I have good Serbian friends on Olympiacos, as well as my Australian buddy Matt Nielsen, so I know a lot of people on that team. I think we competed well against them but lost our chances in the end. Like I said, we are travelling a lot and everyone has had a tough schedule, as it's meant to be in the New Year, especially now with the national cups games. But there is something else that makes things tough lately. All my life, I have been prepared to play basketball games at night. My body is comfortable playing at that time, but in Spain the schedule kills me with so many weekend games at 12:30 in the afternoon! You have to change your way of life to adapt to that. I feel much better playing at night - OK, not like at midnight, but I am sure you get my point. If I have to wake up at 7 in the morning to be ready for a morning game, I do it, no problem, but my body reacts better to afternoon games. That's my favorite time to play basketball, so here's a message for everyone - if you play against me at night, watch out!
We went on to lose our third game, away in Istanbul against Fenerbahce Ulker, on consecutive blocks by Emir Preldzic in the final play of the game. That's something you don't see often on in a basketball court, but hey, strange things happen sometimes. I played a lot of games that went down to one shot or a critical mistake. It's a shame because Rafa Martinez is one of the best shooters in Europe. I am sure he would have made that shot, but Preldzic stood in his way. I consider it as normal stuff, this amazing stuff that happens all the time. For instance, Kerem Tunceri stepped out of bounds and made the layup to send Turkey to the World Championships final against our Serbian national team, or Dusan Kecman of Partizan hitting the most unbelievable shot of all time to win the Adriatic League last season. These things happen on regular basis. We played excellent defense in that game against a very good team and a great crowd, but we didn't have luck at the end. We won't cry over that loss, as Fener is coming to Valencia to see us again, for Top 16 Week 6. We will give 120% in that game, and try to block Preldzic's shots three times to take revenge for that loss!
Like I said, I have a good relationship with Matt Nielsen, even when I kind of replaced him here in Valencia. He is a really good guy and a smart player. He is a great person and that is the most important thing for me. No matter what you do or where you work - even if you're a Euroleague.net editor! - if you are a great guy, I will like you. Nielsen plays my type of basketball - he is really clever, knows the game and is always positive. We talked about a lot of things in Athens, and his birthday was the day after the game. It was nice to see him. I am sure everyone in Valencia will be emotional about him coming back, but I just hope it's before and after the game. Once we are on the court, we have to forget about it - there are no friends on a basketball court! We will focus on how to win the game, no matter who we play against. Matt, however, deserves a big ovation from all Valencia fans. He was the Eurocup Finals MVP last season, a leader who left a mark on this club. I am sure we will have a sellout crowd against Olympiacos and people will be nice to him until the ball goes up in the air for the opening tip.
I am doing this blog entry on Monday, February 14 - Valentine's Day. I have no problems saying that I am an emotional guy, but at the same time, I believe that 80% of the guys in the world - and you'd better include me - really don't care about Valentine's Day. The remaining 20% do care because they use this day to apologize for something they did wrong! It is a good way to make up for something you did wrong, otherwise - girls, I am sorry - we really don't care that much about it. A good man can show his love for his wife or girlfriend in many different ways during the year. I don't like to do things just because I am supposed to do them. I like to show my love the way I feel it, my way. I am sure that people who give that much importance to Valentine's Day don't care that much about their loved ones the rest of the year! I prefer showing my love the other 364 days!
First things first, we face a critical game against Olympiacos and we may be eliminated with a loss, so here's a message to all Valencia fans. I am pretty sure they don't need me to tell them how important this game is - and that we need them to beat Olympiacos. The gym is always crowded - and completely full in Euroleague games, no matter who we play. We cannot thank them enough for their support and I am sure they will be as loud as possible. Let's hope that we all make Olympiacos have a nightmare in orange - Valencia's trademark color - on Thursday. Wish us luck, see you soon!
POSTED BY
DUSKO SAVANOVIC - VALENCIA, SPAIN
DATE:
Tuesday, February 15, 2011