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TAU CERAMICA TEAM STATS PARTIZAN IGOKEA TEAM STATS HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS HISTORIC MATCHUPS

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Tau ceramica 1-1 Partizan Igokea
The team with the best record in the Top 16 faces the underdogs who knocked off the champs in a fascinating Quarterfinal Playoffs series. Group E winner Tau Ceramica is shooting for a fourth consecutive trip to the Final Four, while Partizan Igokea is looking to improve on what is already its finest season in a decade since it reached the 1998 Final Four in Barcelona. The two teams have not met since January 2002 and Tau is 4-0 all-time against the Serbian champs. To have a chance, head coach Dusko Vujosevic's squad will need to win one on in Vitoria, but while Partizan is just 3-7 on the road this season, coach Neven Spahija's Tau is 9-1 at home. Two things they have in common is great energy, so expect a full-speed battle between them for the right to play at th e2008 Final Four!

Mirza Teletovic Tau Ceramica Forward

Dusan Kecman Partizan Igokea Forward

One of several examples of unique talent on Tau Ceramica, forward Mirza Teletovic can be in the corner one moment, drilling triples like a guard, and in the paint the next, ripping rebounds like a center. Such versatility made him Tau's top three-point threat, second-best rebounder and third-best scorer, not to mention the player with the most minutes in Euroleague games all season. That shows how important Teletovic will be as Tau prepares to face off with Partizan Igokea in the playoffs, which Teletovic talked about with Euroleague.net.

"It's a little surprising to be facing Partizan, yes. The normal thing to expect is that Panathianikos, the champion from last year, would be one of the last eight teams this year, too. But things happen that you can't predict, and this is one of them. Maybe some teams have better chemistry than others or whatever. For us, we can't think about who's not there or why, only about the opponent we are going to face. Partizan is the team in front of us, so they deserve to be there and we have to respect them."



"I know very well from playing in the Spanish League for the last couple of seasons that even the teams at the bottom of the table can beat you on a good day. It's the same thing with Partizan. It's a young team with good players who are hungry and talented. Then they also have a good coach who practices them very hard. It all makes them a dangerous team, as they have shown all season long."

"I know that Partizan has a great crowd and plays well at home in Belgrade, but basically I am not thinking past the first game. We won the homecourt advantage and we have to make it work, and that means winning the first one. We have to play with confidence on our home court in the first game and get that victory. A lot will depend on that. With a win at home, we can go to Belgrade ready to play good, and if we win, finish the series, but if not, there are not problems going home again."

"We had only one bad game in our group, and that was at the end, when it did not change our situation. Now, everyone's attention is on what we have to do to win the playoff and go to the Final Four. I think we'll be ready, because we have been competing consistently for awhile. We are third in Spain and did what we had to for homecourt advantage in the playoffs. It's a good season until now, but we have to keep it going."

If Dusan Kecman is perhaps the most inconspicuous of the 25 top-rated Euroleague players this season, there's a good reason. The veteran swingman of Partizan Igokea is the consummate team player, happy to fill in as third-best on his team in just about everything - points, rebounds, assists - although he's first in three-point shooting and low in turnovers. His on-court leadership will be indispensible, too, as Partizan gets ready to battle Tau Ceramica in the playoffs, which Kecman was happy to discuss with Euroleague.net.

""Even before the season, we believed in ourselves and thought we could qualify to the Top 16. Not too many people besides us thought so. We had a pretty young roster and some players had left, so people were saying maybe we'd only get two or three wins. After the first game, however, when we beat Barcelona, people started to think that maybe this team can do something. When we got to the Top 16 and saw how tough our group was, we believed in more surprises. We lost the first two games, against Siena and Panathinaikos - our third straight loss to them - but were able to turn it around with four straight wins. We kept our two feet on the ground. We told ourselves if we had an opportunity we would take it. And it happened, when we beat Panathinaikos in the crucial game in Belgrade. It was a great success."



"Of course, playing with these young guys makes you feel younger. They push you to be better, faster and give more energy in the games. Milt Palacio, Petar Bozic and me are the only guys around 30. We are here to give some experience and advice, especially on court during the games, because our coach, Dusko Vujosevic, gives us all the information on how to play and so on. The important thing is that the team has great chemistry and good relations. A good atmosphere on any team is crucial."

"Strangely enough, I have never played Tau Ceramica in an official game. We were never in the same group, so this will be the first time. But there will be no secrets, because there are no secrets in basketball anymore. These days, you can see all the games you want. The coaches have the information they need about the other team's players. Maybe there will be some little tactics that help, but the main things we will know about each other."

"Of course, it's a tough, good team with great ambitions to make the Final Four ever season and to try to win the Spanish League. They have a good coach, great players and they did something important, which is they improved in the Top 16, their only loss coming when it didn't matter. A lot of their players I know, either playing with them or against them along the way. The main guys are Planinic and Rakocevic, and they are very big in the paint with Splitter and Teletovic, but there are too many good players to mention. They have homecourt advantage and in this series they are favorites. But we're in a good position, totally relaxed, with no pressure. They are expected to do something important, but we are in the same situation as before the Top 16. We just have to give 100 percent on the court, and if we play like we did against Panathinaikos, maybe we can do good things."