May 25, 2012
Euroleague 2010-11, Regular Season, Group C analysis and Quotes

Analysis

REGAL FC BARCELONA

The reigning Euroleague champion is back to defend its crown and try to do even better this season. Coach Xavi Pascual will lead a star-studded team featuring Ricky Rubio, Juan Carlos Navarro and Erazem Lorbek, among many others. Barcelona comes off its best Euroleague season ever and hopes to follow the same game plan as last season - staying rock-solid at Palau Blaugrana and playing its best basketball at the right time.


MONTEPASCHI SIENA

Montepaschi SienaA new era has started for Montepaschi Siena, which has won four consecutive Italian League titles and reached three Euroleague Final Fours since 2004. Montepaschi will have a different core of players, keeping Shaun Stonerook, Ksistof Lavrinovic and Nikos Zisis as references on and off the court. Led by head coach Simone Pianigiani, Montepaschi knows what it takes to do well in the Euroleague and has become Italian basketball's standard-bearer.


LIETUVOS RYTAS

Lietuvos RytasLithuanian League champion Lietuvos Rytas will play a second consecutive Euroleague season for the first time in club history. L. Rytas put together most of its 2010-11 roster early in the off-season. Brad Newley, Jerry Johnson and Arvydas Siksnius arrive to complement Kenan Bajramovic, Jonas Valanciunas and Martynas Gecevicius. L. Rytas will try to get back to the Top 16 and will target the playoffs for the first time ever as it continues to fight to be among the best in Europe.


FENERBAHCE ULKER

Fenerbahce UlkerFenerbahce Ulker has opened a new era with the arrival of head coach Neven Spahija, who is ready to lead the team to new heights. FB Ulker has a good core of players in Roko Ukic, Emir Preldzic and Oguz Savas plus newcomers Marko Tomas, Darjus Lavrinovic and Kaya Peker, enough to challenge for a Top 16 spot and beyond. Fener reached the Euroleague quarterfinals in 2008 and will try at least to do so again, backed by its wild fans and solid structure.


CIBONA

CibonaA two-time Euroleague champion, Cibona was arguably the unluckiest team in last year's Top 16, losing three games by less than 4 points and another one in overtime. Cibona is set to have a different coach and new star players this season, but its goals remain the same. Cibona will fight for a Top 16 spot and based on its strong performances in Zagreb and its support form a wild crown, there is every reason to expect it to challenge for every domestic title available.


CHOLET BASKET

KhimkiFrench League champion Cholet Basket returns to the Euroleague for the first time since 2000 ready to show its domestic success can be extended to a higher level. Well-known for developing young talent at every position, Cholet started a new golden age by winning the Semaine des As title in 2008 with Ermal Kunter as head coach. Kunter now enters his fifth season with the team and has the goal of making sure Cholet is competitive at every level this season.


Quotes

Regal FC Barcelona sports director Joan Creus:
"A lot of teams are the same as last season - Montepaschi, Cibona and Fenerbahce Ulker. Of course, there are two new teams and we all have to wait and see the final rosters of all six squads to make a proper analysis. It comes as no surprise to say it is a similar group as last season. Being the reigning Euroleague champion is a new challenge for us. All eyes will be on us and we will have more pressure. All opponents will be looking forward to beating us. We have to be ready for that situation. We think we have a competitive team. I think we will be able to live up to this challenge."

Montepaschi Siena president, Ferdinando Minucci
"“It’s very similar to last season. We have the same teams, but now the new European champion. We are happy to play against Barcelona and for our supporters to see Siena against Barcelona again. We are happy because I think we can finish in the first three positions in this group. We changed our strategy and have a new project, a new team with different players. I am very happy because playing against Barcelona is always emotional for us."

Lietuvos Rytas president Jonas Vainauskas
"Our team is ready to achieve the biggest goals. I expect that the team will reach as high as possible, maybe even make it to the Final Four. Making it to the Top 16 is the minimum goal for this team, but we are really hoping to reach higher. We have a tough group with Regal FC Barcelona and Montepaschi Siena, but we have a good mix of young and experienced players and expect to produce good results."

Fenerbahce Ulker general manager Nedim Karakas:
"We are meeting some old friends because three of our regular season teams were our opponents last season, too. Before anything else, I want to wish all teams to be injury-free and healthy. We had a lot of injury problems last season and we hope not to go through that again. It is a hard group, Barcelona is the Euroleague champion, Montepaschi is the Italian League champion and even though two teams are different, they come from the same countries - Lithuania and France - as last season. With a new coach and new players, we are expecting to be more successful in the Euroleague next season."

Cibona general manager Mihovil Nakic
"It is a very similar group compared to last year. We have three of the teams we played against last season - Barcelona, Montepaschi and Fenerbahce Ulker. We have two teams where our former coaches are working - Lietuvos Rytas and Fenerbahce. It will be interesting, because the trips will be more or less the same. We have another Lithuanian team and another French team. It is a very attractive group for fans, with big names, but it is too early to say what the teams will be like. We will try to put together a competitive team ready to challenge everyone in our group."

Cibona head coach Zdravko Radulovic:
"I can only comment in regards to the names of the teams because all the rosters are still going to see changes. In our group we have the European champions, Barcelona, we have Fenerbahce Ulker, which will look a lot different this year with coach Neven Spahija, and we have Montepaschi Siena, which has been one of the best European clubs for years. These three teams have budgets a lot bigger than ours, while Lietuvos Rytas and Cholet are financially somewhere more to what we are. But Rytas, with another Croatian coach Drazen Anzulovic, is a great team as well. They were the Eurocup winners in 2009. And Cholet is a team with tradition in France. So, it is an interesting, but hard group, attractive for our fans and we hope to put together a team that will be able to compete with all of them."

Cholet Basket general manager Thierry Chevrier:
"It is a good draw for us. This is our second Euroleague experience, our first in 10 years, and playing the last winner of the competition is always good. We were the French League champions and our fans are very excited with the chance to see their team in the Euroleague. Our fans will see great basketball teams like Barcelona and Montepaschi, we are all looking forward to this challenge."
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Euroleague.net
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