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Truly unique: we'll always have Berlin!

Thu, 07 May 2009 13:57:21 GMT

Hello to all of you again! Still here, still writing… Not playing, though! At least not in the Euroleague! The biggest goal, the biggest dream became a reality for me in Berlin. We achieved our goal, we made a dream come true by getting the title. As Mr. Freddy Mercury sang a few years ago: "We are the Champions!"

I cannot even get close to describing the feelings. What I felt, what all of us felt is simply something that you cannot express in words. An unbelievable feeling! Unique! Truly unique! The "picture" I still have vividly in my mind is the entire bench entering the court as soon as the horn sounded putting an end to the final, with everybody falling into each other's arms, the wide smiles on our faces, the people chanting louder than ever. I think it's a "snapshot" that I will always carry in my mind and heart.

A few seconds earlier, we were all watching the ball being released from Siska's hands. Thank God it didn't go through the net. It was a relief and, at the same time, the signal to start celebrating. It was a shot that could have been accurate and we are simply and honestly happy that it wasn't. I believe we played better in Berlin. It's true, the win was sealed almost at the buzzer in both of our games, but it's also true that we controlled both through their biggest parts.

Another given fact is that we had not only one or two, but many players to step up in crucial moments. Vassilis got the MVP award, because he did a fine job in both games, either getting big shots or organizing the game. I was also happy for him for another reason, because he was my room-mate throughout the year! A lot of people are asking about the points I scored late in the final. It was the coach's decision to get me the ball in the low post, since I had a shorter guy to guard me. I tried to do the best possible. In the beginning my effort didn't pay back, but I am just happy that I helped my team a little bit to achieve its goal. This is what every player in this team has in his mind: How to help the team.

But still, Panathinaikos is not one or two or even three players. Everybody can step up. Panathinaikos is a team and the team won this Euroleague trophy. And of course Panathinaikos is the coaching staff. At o2 World, we were waiting in the bus for the team to gather, in order to leave for the hotel. Obradovic came in last. We all began to chant his name in the Latin rhythm well known by our fans throughout Europe. It was a small recognition, from us to him, for all the work and effort he has put in all year and the trust he had in us during the bad periods and the bad moments. Especially then! The fans followed the bus to the hotel celebrating. As I came to understand later, it was just the beginning. As soon as we landed in Athens, we were informed that Panathinaikos fans were waiting for us. More than 2,000 of them surrounded the bus and followed us to OAKA, blowing horns, singing, calling our names and chanting rhymes.

I think that we haven't realized 100-percent yet what we did. Personally I am sure I haven't realized it! It's a work in process. I am getting closer to realizing it with every person that comes to congratulate us for the trophy. They stop us in the streets and they tell us how happy we made them; maybe almost as happy as I felt at the buzzer, maybe as joyful as the "snapshot" in my mind with the...

New heights of anticipation!

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:53:22 GMT

Hello to all of you again!

We are not getting ready just to play this time. We are getting ready to fly! Our final destination is o2 World in Berlin and the Euroleague Final Four! It’s our final day in Athens before taking off from Eleftherios Venizelos airport, and the anticipation has reached new heights for me and a lot of my teammates. We were and are looking forward to the Final Four like few things ever. It’s like the final countdown that we were waiting for since beating Siena in Italy will finally start the moment we get on the plane!

Speaking about all the days of anticipation between Siena and now, we have been working really hard every single day. We have done the best we can in order to step on the court prepared in the best possible way basketball-wise, but also both mentally and physically. We know all too well that it will not be easy. Our goal is set, we want the trophy, like any team that reaches the Final Four, but we don’t have any illusions that someone is waiting for us in Berlin to just hand it to us as soon as we land there! That would be nice, but it doesn't work that way.

We want the title, but we know we have to proceed step by step. The semifinal has its own special point of reference, since two Greek teams will fight for one place in the Euroleague final. The duel between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos is the talk of the town here in Athens, something special in sports and not only in Greece. We know it too and both teams are preparing in the best possible way. We have played three times already this season and we know each other very well. One thing is for sure: This is a game in the biggest spotlight imaginable. We want to be ready for it. Our fans want the same. They stop us in the streets, asking us to get to the final, to bring the title back in "green" hands!

The level of this Final Four is very high. The other semifinal is expected to be another big game; CSKA Moscow against Barcelona. Different teams, but still a great duel. CSKA is coming back for its seventh straight Final Four, Barcelona demonstrated that is a tough team this year, and we know it very well, since they beat us twice. CSKA has Nikos Zisis on its roster, our fellow Greek player, so we will root for him a little! It's positive that we have another Greek presence through him in this Final Four, but if we both get to the title game, we will try to make him unhappy in the end.

We want to go as far as we can, for us, for our club, for our effort throughout the season, and for our fans. We know that a lot of them will be in Berlin. We couldn't be happier for that, and we want to have them next to us, shouting, chanting, singing - all the things that show what great fans are like. Anything negative is not welcome, in my opinion. The Final Four is a festival of basketball like no other, and should be treated that way by everyone who is privileged enough to be there!

Before leaving you, I must inform you that the Final Four "rookies" on our team have kept their word. We took the whole team out to dinner - on us! It was another great night out, friends among friends! Now we want to do our best as rookies to help our team win the trophy. All of us, rookies or not, must turn words into action on the court. Everything we’ve been talking about since Siena we now have to demonstrate on the court! It’s the only way...

Countdown to Berlin!

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:36:41 GMT

Hello to all of you again! Just like I said the previous time, we're still here, still playing!

The "next big step" I was talking to you about in my previous blog is a fact. We got to the Final Four, we’ll be in Berlin. We achieved one of our goals already!

The road to the Final Four had a strange "curve", however. We started the playoffs against Montepaschi Siena with the home court advantage and we got the first win we needed. But in the second game, things turned upside down. We gave up a 16-point lead. I don’t know, maybe we loosened up, lost our focus. The fact is that we allowed Siena to win in OAKA. The final countdown began for us immediately after the end of that game, after a loss.

Coach Obradovic came into the locker room and demonstrated how much he believes in us, in this team. The next target was set just minutes after that loss. We were feeling as if someone has chopped off our wings, but he just came in and said to us that we can get two wins in Italy. He managed to put his belief, his words, into our heads and souls. We got the win in the first game in Siena rather easily. At some point, we went ahead by as much as 30 points. It seemed crazy, but there we were, getting what we wanted. Back in the locker room, we all agreed immediately on one thing: "Let's finish it in Italy". We didn’t want the series to go to a fifth game.

We knew that things would be different in Game 4, however. The situation had changed. We had landed in Siena with our backs against the wall after the defeat in OAKA, but now Montepaschi had its back against the wall. We expected a reaction. The fourth game was, indeed, different. Siena fought till the end, the fans were very loud supporting their team, but we controlled the game and when our opponents took a three-point lead, we were ready. We were able to make it clear that our team is cut out for big things. We reacted in the right way and we got the ticket to Berlin.

What we did is not easy. Siena is a really good team, a worthy opponent. I don’t believe that a lot of teams could have taken two wins in a row against them, especially in Siena. I believe that we proved on the court that we are a better team, that we wanted it more. Panathinaikos demonstrated its character when things got tough. The team reacted as a big team does.

Now, a whole new chapter of the season has opened for us. We are getting ready and what we want most at this point is to be healthy when the time comes in Berlin. We have a lot of experienced guys on the team. They are there to help us prepare mentally, too. When you have Frankie Alvertis as a teammate, getting ready for his ninth Final Four (!), it’s easy to find answers to your questions. A lot of my teammates have been there before, but several others will be at a Final Four for the first time: Spanoulis, Nicholas, Pekovic, Kecman and, of course, me. And we are going to pay for it...literally: we are going to buy dinner to the whole team! We are the rookies in this!

The sure thing is that I never dreamt that I would be in such a position when I watched a Final Four game for the first time in my life. I was in the sixth grade and, believe it or not, the very first Final Four game I watched - and enjoyed - was the 1996 final, when Panathinaikos became the first European champion from Greece! I was not really into...

Now, I want 20,000 friends, too!

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:46:17 GMT

Hello to all of you! Here we are, still talking and…playing! Our team arrives to the Quarterfinal Playoffs in the best possible way, since we achieved both our goals in the last round: we reached the playoffs and we took first place in our group. We got that job done by grabbing five victories in six games. Now, we are exactly where we wanted to be. The playoffs are just around the corner, Montepaschi Siena is our next challenge, and we have to get ready for a tough series! It won't be easy.

To tell you the truth it wasn't that easy so far anyway. To play Unicaja in Malaga, or Partizan in front of a record 22,567 fans, is no easy task. I believe, however, that the key for us in the Top 16 was our victory in Spain against Unicaja. We got the win we needed for the standings, but it helped us a lot psychologically, too. After that game, I believe that we played better.

Of course, it's not easy to forget our last road game, in Belgrade against Partizan. It was nice to play in front of more than 22,000 fans. The atmosphere was great. Serbs love basketball and they show it. Even when you play in Hala Pionir, the atmosphere is amazing. They know how to watch a game. Basketball-wise, we didn't perform well, especially on offense, and as a result, we suffered there our first and – fortunately - only defeat in Top 16.

Fortunately, the loss didn't cost us. In the last Top 16 game, we played Unicaja in our place, OAKA, and we got the win - after a strange game. We were up by 22 points, but we had to play overtime. And now, I can reveal something. Partizan's game in Rome had finished earlier and they had lost to Lottomatica, a result that sealed first place in the group for us, no matter what we did against the Spaniards. Still, we fought like crazy to get the win in overtime, and now I can reveal something: we didn't know the result of the game in Italy! Some people on the bench knew that Partizan had lost, but the guys who were playing didn't know about it. We got a little stressed as we lost that 22-point lead, it's true, but we won it after all and were able to laugh afterwards about the "secret" they were keeping from us. But to tell you the truth, even if we had known of Partizan's result, we wouldn't have stopped fighting for the win.

We will do the same in the games to come. Siena is not an easy opponent. The key players are now Terrell McIntyre and Shaun Stonerook and we will have to control the rhythm of the game, because it's a team that likes to run and play in the open court. They also have a big plus: Their home court. Palasports Mens Sana is a tough court to visit. But here comes our advantage: I think that OAKA is a tough court for every visiting opponent, too! We have played in front of 20,000 fans there and I am sure that we will relive that experience twice next week. I am more than sure that the Panathinaikos fans will be present and right beside us. And I am sure that we will register two more "sold-out" games that become part of Panathinaikos history. It's much easier to play with 20,000 fans on your side! With their help from the stands, with their songs pushing us, I believe that we will get the wins we need to make the next big step - to the Final Four!

Take care, enjoy yourselves and we'll stay in touch through www.euroleague.net