"Nothing is impossible, but in my opinion the teams that advance from this group to the playoffs will have to make a great effort. I think the draw put together four great teams with great traditions, three of which have previously won the Euroleague. And it won't be for the faint of heart as everything could be decided only on the final buzzer. Our primary goal was to be in the Top 16. Now that we reached it, we'll try with all our attitude and our skills to take another step ahead."

"Panathinaikos appears on paper, despite their third place in the regular season group with Barcelona and Siena, the strongest team, for tradition, organization, and roster. Players like Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Jasikevicius, Batiste and Pekovic are well-known by everybody, and on the bench they have the six-time Euroleague winner, coach Obradovic. It will be a nice comeback for me in the arena where I played for three seasons and I have great memories of the fans and club and the time spent in Athens. I think that Panathinaikos is a team that can go all the way."

"Partizan is a well-coached team with by a great teacher in Dusko Vujosevic, and with an infinite group of young talents that get great results every season, improving them season-by-season. And then to play at Pionir Arena is not at all easy for teams. There the team has an incredible push by the fans and gets unbelievable results. The worst team to face from the fourth ranked was Partizan and I think they could try to repeat the same results from the 2007-08 campaign and I'm sure they will stay in the run till the last buzzer. Unicaja is another team built to go all the way, trying to repeat its 2007 Final Four participation. It has a great coach in Aito, who brings great experience and the ability to inspire and get the most of his players. And the team possesses great athleticism and leaders like Cabezas and Berni Rodriguez, plus a fantastic crowd and the experience to solve the most difficult situations. We will try to put our hearts on the court to have an advantage against our opponents: No pressure to reach the playoffs, but we have to be confident in reaching it to try to do it."

"The Top 16 begins and the number one rule is that there are no easy games. The same goes of course for the regular season. We have not played our best basketball yet. We had some injuries and everything, but what we wanted is to play more aggressively, like we did in our last game in the Greek League against Kolossos. We want to be aggressive on both sides of the court for 40 minutes. It’s one of our goals for the rest of the season and of course for the Top 16. Until now we must admit that we didn’t play at the level we can play. We can do much, much better and I can say that because I know how we practice and what our effort is like every day. We want to show everybody and primarily to ourselves and our fans that we can do much better than we have so far."

"“Our first opponent in the Top 16 is Partizan and it’s going to be a very special game for all of us because it’s a home game in the premiere of this second phase of the Euroleague. Of course it will be more special for some of us: Me, Kecman and coach Obradovic. For me this team is special, because I played there for three years and I have a lot of friends there. It will be difficult for us, but we have to get over it and play for our team. We are professionals and we must play to win. Partizan is a really good team this year too. They play very aggressive as always, with a lot of running and rotation and like every year they are very strong in rebounding. Then we have Unicaja. They have a very good team, a fact verified by the results. The good thing is that I am going to meet my good friend, Omar Cook. We spent two months together during summer, since we both played for the national team of Montenegro. And I know him as an opponent too, because he used to play for Red Star. His present team is one of the best teams so far, they play at an extremely high level and it will be a difficult task for us and for everybody else to face them and to beat them. Last but not least we are facing Lottomatica Roma. Another special game emotionally for Panathinaikos, since three of our former players are now there: Dejan Bodiroga, Nando Gentile and Sani Becirovic. It’s another good team, I know them from last year when with Partizan we won one and lost one against them. You really cannot say for one team ‘this team is bad.’ We are talking about three out of the 16 best teams in Europe. There is no weak opponent. You cannot even think ‘oh, this is an easy game.’ There is no such thing. All of the games require our full attention, to be aggressive and focused 100% during the whole game."

"“For me, the first days were a little bit difficult coming to a foreign country. It’s just one hour by plane from Belgrade, but still we are talking about different cultures, different languages. But now everything is fine. All the guys really helped me very much and the fact that Obradovic, Itoudis, Kecman and Sakota speak my language was a big plus in my effort to adjust. Now everything is so much better. I have friends here and there’s a great atmosphere in the locker rooms. As far as basketball goes, in the beginning it was a little bit difficult, but there is not much different between Panathinaikos’s and Partizan’s philosophies. For sure it’s a little bit different to play next to so many great players such as Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Jasikevicius, Batiste and all the others. They help me every single day and it’s good for a player, because now the opponents do not focus on me, but they have to share their attention with many players. This is one of our big advantages as a team and we have to make use of it, because we may have ended up in third place in our group at the end of the regular season, but the goals do not change for Panathinaikos: This team is always aiming high!"

"“We had our opportunities and we can’t blame anyone but ourselves for not reaching the Top 16. We just got to move forward now. We can’t think ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda.’ we just have to keep improving now and focus on finishing strong in the Italian League."

"“Unicaja’s strength is that it is just so deep. With guys like Archibald, NDong, Kelati, they don't miss a beat if someone happens to get in foul trouble. They press, run and are athletic. They have good shooters and good decision makers. They are definitely going to be a team that I would say could go on. They are deep and tough. We were fortunate to stay close to them when we played. But they always showed toughness. Lottomatica is another tough team that I know from the Italian League. They have a good point guard in Jaaber. He can really play one or two, is strong and active and causes problems. They have Hutson, one of the best four men in Europe, I think. He can shoot, post up, rebound and play defense. He does it all for that position. And then there’s the MVP of last month, Sani Becirovic. He didn't play against us in Rome when the game went to overtime."

"Panathinaikos has had the same team for a few years, so they are going to be tough, as always. They’re always well coached. They have experience and depth. They have former Euroleague scoring leader in Drew Nicholas. They have Diamantidis, who is very long and active and won the defensive player of year. Batiste has a wide body and does a lot in paint. He rebounds, blocks shots and scores. They are all probably extra hungry because they didn’t go to the final eight last year. Pekovic is an ox, an absolute beast. He’s big and active. He’ll dunk on you and block your shot the next time down. He’s a real warrior. With Batiste, they maybe have the best one-two punch down low. Partizan had a great, great season last year going to the quarterfinals. They always play with a lot of heart and always think they are going to win every game, no matter the opponent or the tradition. They have great tradition over there. They are just a tough team and at home especially they are almost unbeatable. The crowd really gets into it. It’s a really tough group. I can't wait to see this group. This is probably the most unknown group. The others you can make a prediction - you don't ever know - but these four… And whichever comes out of it will come out of it bruised and tired. It's a great group."