Determined and devoted

May 25, 2013

Hello again to all the Euroleague fans out there! This is my second blog, and it arrives at the end of the first leg of the regular season. What can I say? How about this: all the teams in our group are still on track to reach the Top 16! Of course, I'm very happy to fight for this goal, but it's an incredibly knotty situation! Our team has a 3-2 record. Since I last wrote, we did our job at home, downing such a prestigious team as Olympiacos. And on the road, we were very close to beating Fenerbahce Ulker in Istanbul. Even this defeat made us understand that we can compete at this level with even the best teams, if we all play all together, sacrifice for each other and leave our hearts on the floor.

Now, I would like to talk about the two games that moved me more than any others: at home against Olympiacos, the atmosphere was incredible. Our fans filled Paladesio and pushed us to the win. They really were the sixth man. They are special and are part of the team and make big contributions to our victories. In this game, I had the honor to face Vassilis Spanoulis, one of the strongest players in the Euroleague. With his great ability to score from downtown, he came very close to winning the game by himself.

In Istanbul, I remained amazed by Sinan Erdem Arena: it's so beautiful! For sure, it will be a great place to hold the 2012 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four. It's very difficult to play in this arena, as Fenerbahce's fans are very close to the court and push their players in an extraordinary way. There is also a lot of noise, which makes it very hard to communicate on the court between teammates. Despite all those obstacles, we lost in overtime, which showed that we are not only a team with character, but a good team, too.

Before saying goodbye to all you Euroleague.net followers, I would like to tell you that on Thursday we'll have a crucial game in Nancy, France. We want to come back with a victory that could be a decisive step ahead for us in the race to reach a berth in the Top 16. Of course, that is the dream now for everyone in Cantu, the club and the town! It won't be easy, because Nancy is a good team with a superstar in Nicolas Batum. But our players – joined by our fans, who will go to Nancy in a big numbers ¬ – will be determined to bring the victory back home with us! I believe in it, and I will put all my energy and heart on the court to help my team. I want my first-ever Euroleague campaign to finish as late as possible...I feel devotion!!!

POSTED BY

ANDREA CINCIARINI - CANTU, ITALY

DATE:

Tuesday, November 22, 2011