Hello, Euroleague fans! I'd like to begin my last blog on Euroleague.net by saying thank you to a lot of people: starting with the guys at the official site of the Euroleague, who chose me, making me feel even more involved in this wonderful adventure that is the Euroleague and living a great new experience. Then I would like to thank all the fans who have had the patience and the desire to read my blog. I hope you had fun. I would like to thank Matteo Mantica, Armani Jeans Milano's media director, who followed me, step by step, on this adventure.

Having said thank you to everybody, unfortunately, I have to switch to an apology. In particular, I offer apologies to all those who came to Mediolanum Forum to see our last game of the Top 16 against Prokom Sopot last week, to those who saw that game on television and to those who announced it on TV. It was not a beautiful way to close our adventure in the Euroleague. We should have played the game with another state of mind. Our team this year has made of its unique state of mind our great strength, our winning weapon in order to get results that even on paper might have seemed really impossible. We always fought, we did so until the penultimate game in Piraeus against Olympiacos, but we completely missed the last game against Prokom. I'm the captain of the team, so it's up to me to apologize to everyone from all of us.

Will I miss not being in the playoffs?...

Hello, Euroleague fans. I'm here again on Euroleague.net for a new blog. I am happy, I am proud, we're all proud after reaching the Top 16, a significant milestone for us and for the city of Milano, which did not reach the second round of the Euroleague since the 1996-97 season. And linked to that there is a curiosity that I'll tell you shortly. When the Euroleague contacted me in October to ask if I'd like to write my blog on the official site, Euroleague.net, I was enthusiastic and delighted that they chose my team and me personally. Well, now I am happy to continue this adventure after reaching the Top 16: they had confidence in us and we continue our adventure in Europe. I am proud of this achievement.

I mentioned that 1996-97 season, the last one in which Olimpia Milano qualified for the second round of the Euroleague. Well, that also was my first year in this club. I was 17 years old and I came from Treviso (then as now), and because of many injuries that had occurred on the team (from this point of view, that season is very similar to this one), after current Lottomatica Roma coach Nando Gentile broke his knee in a home game against Olympiacos Piraeus, I was called by the coach to be on the bench at all the games. (To tell the truth, I had been on the bench once before that, for a game against Alba Berlin due to another injury occurred to another teammates of mine, but I broke my nose!) I never played, but it was a beautiful...

A fantastic night! This is the only way I have to describe what happened on Wednesday at Datch Forum, when we were able to win against the reigning champions from CSKA Moscow for our second win in a row in the Euroleague, following our first win versus Panionios, also in front of our fans. The extraordinary fact was that we won this big match after recovering from 20 points down in the first half and 17 at the intermission - against such at team as CSKA, too!. It looked like an easy walk for CSKA but we showed great character and big desire to do something special, pushed by our crowd, which deserves special mention. It's crazy to think, as I write this a day later, about what happened: if you win a game rallying, it's great, but if you do so against a team like Moscow, it's more incredible! It's something that just does not happen every day.

We talked about the crowd: simply great! They participated in an extraordinary way, giving us a big charge. It looked like a final at times, and the celebrations we had on the court at the final buzzer will be something that will remain in our minds. A lot of my friends who watched the game on TV poked fun at me for celebrating, telling me that we just won a game, an important and well-played game, but just a game. But in my opinion, the TV didn't give to viewers the right feeling and the atmosphere we were experiencing at the same moment at Datch Forum, where there was a magic and...

 Hello, Euroleague fans. Let me tell you that I'm really happy to be talking to you! When the Euroleague contacted me to become one of the bloggers of the official site, Euroleague.net, it was a great joy for me. I have always been a frequent user of the Euroleague site, even last year when I was playing the ULEB Cup with Benetton Treviso. I'm always looking for news, stats, results... and when I saw the blogs of some players, I thought: "I would like to become one of them. I'd like to tell everybody some of the experiences that I have had playing the Euroleague, what I feel playing this competition all around Europe." But then I recalled that one time while I was in Treviso, I did a TV promo for Euroleague.net, but I had a lot of problems reading and repeating the internet address of the official site. After that, I thought they'd forget about me. Now, out of nowhere, my phone rang recently and I was asked to blog! I immediately said, "Yes, of course! I'm really interested." So here I am, ready as I can be to tell everybody what the Euroleague is for me.

It's something special: trust me. In the Euroleague, you can breathe a wonderful sensation that I just love. Just listening to DEVOTION, the official song of the Euroleague, is something special for me, both when I am there on the court, ready to play, and when I'm at home watching the games on television. Wednesdays and Thursdays, all season long, from regular season to Final...