Hey, everyone. We're getting closer! The Final Four is just a few days away now. I can tell you that everyone on my team, Regal FC Barcelona, is working hard to be ready. The Final Four is an exceptional event and a dream for everybody who's part of basketball, so we're excited to go to Paris and get on the court! This is something special for me because where I come from, Senegal, no one can think of something so big. I was born in a small village, a seaside town for fishermen, and I never even heard much about basketball until I was 13 years old. We grew up on the sea, playing soccer all day, every day. There was a lot of freedom in a place like that, and the parents could safely let their kids run around on the beach all day. It was all fun activities like that and very little homework until I turned 13 and was sent to boarding school. That's when I discovered basketball. I fell in love right away and forgot about soccer. And it's not that I was tall then, either. I was no taller than 1.88 meters at 16 years old, when I started to grow a lot. But I was in love with basketball already then.

Between ages 16 and 20 is when I grew to my current size, 2.13, and found my way to Germany. That's when I realized how much I needed to learn about basketball. Back in Senegal, there were school teams, but we didn't learn the basic fundamentals of the game. I had to learn the skills of the sport myself. I would watch...

Hello, everyone. Have you got a ticket to Paris? Are we all going to be able to fly there? Will we have to go by bus or train? I'm Boni Ndong of Regal FC Barcelona, and I only know the answer to the first question. I've got a ticket to be at the Final Four with my team playing for the Euroleague trophy, and I'm going to get there any way possible! It's a dream come true to be going to Paris. Everybody who plays in the Euroleague is dreaming about winning the championship. For me it's the most prestigious trophy out there, so it's the main goal of the season. And it's so difficult to get the chance, too. Two years ago I started playing in Euroleague for Unicaja in Malaga, hoping to get to the Final Four. We never managed to make it to the playoffs, though. That's because the level of competition is so high. There are always eight to 10 teams competing to get those four spots. That's why we work so hard and try so hard, because there are not many opportunities. Not just anyone can make it to a Final Four. As we all know, there are a lot of big players who never made it in their own careers, so I am not taking this chance lightly. We want to come back with the championship, nothing less!

If you don't know already, I am from Senegal, and another thing that makes me happy now is that my family and friends there will be able to see the Final Four. They follow and understand the competition pretty well already because...