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We have the right to believe!

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:40:42 GMT

What a great feeling to be together with you in March! What a nice opportunity to write to all of you again. Let me be honest: writing my previous blogs I tried to describe to you part of the atmosphere in Partizan and around the club. And I often likened it to a nice dream. Now, at the end of March, I feel like I am still dreaming, but I am afraid somebody could wake me up. A dream: that is the right word to describe my feelings to be a part of the Euroleague Playoffs again.

I was too happy when we reached Top 16 so I have no words to describe this kind of happiness. Before the Top 16 began, we were chatting in the locker room and somebody said it would be so nice to secure a playoff spot before the final game, against Lottomatica in Rome. In that case, we would go to the famous Fontana di Trevi in Rome and drop coins in the water for further luck. We all were laughing and few believed in it, but our wish was fulfilled. It was not easy, especially after our Top 16 started with a loss in Athens. After that there were two home games, which I believe they were key for us. We managed to beat Lottomatica and Unicaja and next came the Serbian Cup, which we also won.

In our best mood, we then traveled to Malaga ready to make giant step to the Euroleague quaterfinals. And we did it! Later we were met by something incredible. Our fans welcomed us to Belgrade airport, which was just a taste of the real celebration. By that I mean our historic game with Panathinaikos in Belgrade Arena with our fans, all 22,586 of them! They set a new European club record for attendance. In that outstanding atmosphere (like it is each time we play) we booked a big win to underline our classification in the best possible way.

After that we traveled to Rome for last Top 16 game and Lottomatica beat us. I see that loss as a additional motivation for all of us to take the next chance to show that was merely our bad night. There were few who believed we could make it to the Top 16. There were even fewer who believed we were able to reach the Playoffs. What is for sure now is this: our most enthusiastic fans believe that we can make one more miracle.

We all know very well who is CSKA. Over the last three seasons, they were Euroleague champs two times. This season, they finished their regular season and Top 16 groups in first place. For sure, homecourt advantage gives them additional safeness, making a strong favorite out of them. But we have the right to believe. I think everything we have done so far we did because we believed we could do it.

The series starts on March 24 in Moscow and all that I hope is that I shall be still your blogger when the series finishes. Dreaming is so nice . So let me give you the opportunity to join me in my dreams!

Next stop, Pionir: the dream lives

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:31:27 GMT

It is real pleasure to talk again with all of you fans after we finished first phase of the competition with success. There were a lot of thrills during the regular season of the Euroleague. From the very beginning, armed with our experience from last season, we were motivated to play at the highest level. Our task was to play good enough to catch a chance to continue our fantastic Euroleague story from the previous season - and to provide six more great nights to those who shared both joy and sadness with us - our true fans. I think we played consistently good all the time this regular season, even though there were dramatic victories in the last seconds just as there were losses at the buzzer that made us all sad and angry. But all the time we believed in ourselves and the result was that we won almost all of the important games, including one with CSKA in Moscow. That was the incredible performance that opened our door to the Top 16. But victories in sport last as long as news in the papers - only for one day.

The last days of December and first one in January were a time for celebrating holidays, but we players had less time for relaxing. Of course, we had some brief time to see our families and other persons dear to us, but in Partizan, it is kind of a tradition to spend the holidays together. It is part of our relationship and I am sure everybody can see that with our chemistry on the court. It makes me happy to see and feel our friendly working relationship on the court. If you are spending as much time with your teammates as we do, that must show in the game. I do think it is our big quality and advantage. We are proud of it.

It is nice to look back and be proud because we reached the Top 16 again, but it is also interesting to see what's going on in the new round. Our group is pretty heavy, just like other three. We are together with Unicaja which is one of the best teams in the Spanish League. Lottomatica played excellent in the Euroleague, managing to reach second place in their group. But we were all unlucky to be drawn with the heaviest third-seeded team, Panathinaikos. The Greek champs have much bigger potential than they showed so far this season and they are a regular candidate to be Euroleague champ again. Athens, Malaga and Rome: from the point of view of a tour operator, it looks attractive, but from a sports point of view, it's an extremely heavy itinerary. Partizan was a fourth seed and it cannot be said that we are among the favorites. I know it would be real surprise to everyone to see us in the quarterfinals again.

We failed on our first Top 16 step in Athens after we played excellent for 20 minutes. Pao is not in its best shape, but our old friend Nikola Pekovic buried our hopes. He played like he did a season ago in Partizan. He had great help from another old friend of ours, Dusan Kecman. We were helpless in the second half, but I think our game with Panathinaikos did not change anything. Our goal is to win three home games and try to book a road victory. Athens was not in those plans. Malaga and Rome are cities where we could do that. But the game in Athens showed us all the right direction. We can beat anyone if we could play like we did in first half against Panathinaikos. It is not easy but there is no other way.

Our story began in Athens and it is expected to end in Rome. Between those two games, however we shall...

Time to start believing

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:40:52 GMT

We started the new season playing in Adriatic League with the same goals we have always had - to win trophies. That obligation exsists because of everything we did in previous seasons. We are champs and we learned to think like champs. And the start was furious. Four games - four wins. Sounds nice as prelude to our first Euroleague game. But the fact is that it was not easy job to beat Krka, Helios and Zadar as hosts and Hemofarm on the road. We struggled hard, there was overtime with Zadar, a buzzer-beater to beat Hemofarm... I am sure that this is very beginning and that everyone will soon see the right face of Partizan.

Those Adriatic League games were just a prologue for the most important competition - the Euroleague. I am happy we shall open Euro fire unbeaten but we all are aware of how the next few months will be. Our fans expectations are high as ever, but our group is heavy-duty one. Partizan has a bunch of new players, we are together almost a month and our starting guard Uros Tripkovic was injured for four weeks. That makes our situation complicated. We showed some weakness so far and we do believe it is possible to overcome it practicing. And with a help from our fans, too.

This one heavy group we are heading into. CSKA, Real Madrid, Efes Pilsen, Panionios, Milano: look at those names and you'll see clearly what kind of job is in front of us. CSKA is Euroleague champion and there is no need to explain what a great team it is. Lots of their players have been together for seasons and they are aiming at as high a level as ever. Real Madrid will be our first guest at Pionir Arena. In my opinion, theirs is a team built to play at the Final Four. Let's see what happens. Panionios deserves lot of respect because they reached the Euroleague playing in such a hard competition like the Greek League. During summer they completed the roster with players they missed and with coach Aleksandar Trifunovic, who we know well and who knows us, too. Milano failed in the Euroleague last season, so they are motivated to show they deserve a place in this competition. Teams like Milano could be very dangerous to everyone.

Shortly before the Euroleague starts, we were concentrating on our first road game with Efes Pilsen in Istanbul. I dissected "The Brewers", as we like calling Efes Pilsen, due to their sponsor's name. They have a totally different roster compared to last season. One new face is our pal Milos Vujanic. I spent almost a month-and-a-half with him this summer in the national team's EuroBasket 2009 qualification campaign. Don't ask me what kind of player he is. Hellish!

Alongside of Vujanic, there are new faces like Bootsy Thornton (we struggled hard with him last season, when he was in Montepaschi), as well as Charles Smith from Real (he is our old acquaintance too), Shumpert, Guler, Peker, Kasun from Barcelona... I am writing those names understanding one more time what a great team Efes is. Everything but them winning would be a miracle, but we believe in miracles. All we have to do is our best, to try and play without pressure. And to hope. If you believe, you can make your hopes come true. I believe.

Euroleague and Partizan fans: motivation and inspiration

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:28:24 GMT

This summer, I spent 82 days with the Serbian national team, preparing and playing qualification games for EuroBasket 2009. At the end of that time, head coach Dusan Ivkovic told me that he was extremely satisfied with my contribution, and I am very pleased because of that. I worked a lot during recent seasons and I must say that my Euroleague experience was extremely helpful in reaching this point. I see the challenge of playing in the Euroleague again this season as a special prize to Partizan for having won the Serbian League, Serbian Cup and Adriatic League trophies last season. The Euroleague is the most elite of competitions and offers another chance for all of us to prove ourselves and our place in the company of Europe's biggest clubs. It's an opportunity to make our childhood dreams come true and to give joy to our faithful fans.

Partizan, of course, has been a Euroleague competitor for years. I remember last season for the excellent atmosphere and energy that pushed us to reach the Top 16 and then the Quarterfinal Playoffs and then within one step of the Final Four. Nobody predicted success like that for us. Compared to last season, our team has changed a lot. Our main weapons from that team moved this summer. Nikola Pekovic and Dusan Kecman opted for the color green and will wear the Panathinaikos uniform this season, while Milton Palacio moved to Khimki of Russia. I know that we cannot replace them easily, and for that reason, we are going to face a difficult task in the Euroleague. But because they are gone, we cannot be considered a favorite at the moment. But that is nothing new. It is the same story as when we started last season and the season before. Our new players will have with a great motivation called the Euroleague. That motivation helped us a lot last year.

As for our group - CSKA, Efes Pilsen, Real Madrid, Milano and Panionios - well, our job will not be easy, also considering that the competition system changed. But if we prepare well and strike the right team chemistry, with the inspirational help we get from our supporters, we could be able to compete with the biggest Euroleague names - and even to beat them.

I don't want to end my first blog without giving my honest thanks to our fans. They are a story by themselves. A beautiful story. Any player who has been on the floor at Pionir Arena even once knows well what I am talking about. Our fans are giving us energy that makes us almost play in a trance from wanting to do well for them, and that transforms into victories. For their devotion and loyalty, and for being with us through the good and the bad over the seasons, I owe them all the thanks I can give.

We start this new campaign wishing that our relationship with our fans continues just as it has been. I do hope that Partizan shall prove that the best European club is ours. We and the fans have our hearts in that club. We will compete together.