We
played a great game against CSKA Moscow. We needed that win and we beat
one of the best teams in Europe. First of all, I am really happy
because we won the game. For us, it was a really important game because
we had lost two in a row in the Euroleague. Before that, we beat
Zalgiris in Kaunas, which is very important, especially now that
Zalgiris has started to win games, too. Both wins are important and I
hope they will count in the long run. The game against CSKA was really
good; our coach told us that we didn't want to compete against CSKA, but
beat them, and that is the mentality we had when we stepped on court.
It was really important; the fans and everyone could see we were ready
to fight from the very beginning. We had to get that win, and we did.
Everything is really open in our group; you can see there are six teams with a 2-2 record. Six out of eight! Anything can happen and anybody can beat anybody. Barcelona beat Madrid by 1 point at the buzzer and these are our next two Euroleague opponents, both on the road. If we can win one of these two games, it could be really good for us. As for the game, there was a critical moment in which Ioannis Bourousis hit a very critical three-point shot. Before that, we had a turnover, Cory Higgins hit a three and CSKA got its first lead. Bourousis hit the big three, the fans got fired up and all of us believed we could win this game. We had a couple of steals after that and got the win, but that three-pointer by Bourousis was the key, for sure.
It is great to play with Bourousis. He is the big boss in our team, even our point guard sometimes! He moves the team whenever we pass the ball inside, because his first option is always to pass the ball. He is not a selfish player or looking to score inside all the time. When he gets the ball inside, he looks for the cutters and if nothing happens, then he plays one on one. He is really important for us. When he plays well, it is really hard to play against us. With him, we are balanced - outside game, inside game, fast breaks, good defense...
He makes us a competitive team. Off the court, he is anything but quiet. He is always talking and has an opinion about everything. He is a leader on and off the court, inside and outside the locker room. He is a great guy with a lot of experience in big Euroleague teams. We are trying to follow his leadership, because he is really important for us.
We will face Barcelona at Palau Blaugrana next week. You may think we face each other all the time, but facing a Spanish team in the Euroleague is completely different than in domestic action. The referees are different and so is the pressure. We already beat Barcelona once this year. Okay, it was a home game, but we want to go there and do it again. I think we have to play with the same mentality we played with against
CSKA. We have beaten a lot of big teams this season - Efes, CSKA, Madrid, Barcelona, Olympiacos... After all these wins, we believe we can compete against anybody if we are focused and play together. We have a tough schedule and also need to win as many games as possible in the Spanish League. We have to be competitive in both competitions. We have been playing well, as a team, and have to keep going like this.
We know Barcelona doesn't lose many games at home at this time of the year. For sure, it is tough for anyone to beat Barcelona on the road. I watched a couple of their last two games - against Gran Canaria and in the Euroleague against Real Madrid - and they are playing really good basketball. Still, I think we can match up pretty well against them if we play good defense, then we will have our chances. It is all about defense, where it all starts for us as team, what allows us to run the floor and get fast break points. Every team can be stopped - Limoges beat Valencia in the Eurocup after 28 wins and then Valencia won at Palau Blaugrana this weekend. We will play our next three games on the road – at Barcelona, Murcia and Madrid – but, every game is a challenge and I am excited about it. We want to compete and give our best.
Well, I promised I would recommend some restaurants here in Vitoria, especially in the area where I am living. There are three good Italian restaurants in my area - La Tagliatella, La Mafia and my personal favourite, Dolomiti. Of course, you have a little bit of everything here in Vitoria and great local food. I love Sagartoki, one of the best Basque restaurants in Vitoria - and probably one of the best restaurants in Spain.
They have some amazing chuleton. These are the restaurants that I like, but I have to say that my wife cooks a lot - and I like her cooking the best! It is tough to go out with the baby these days, we have to pre-schedule everything.
The good thing about beating so many big teams at home is that there is always a great atmosphere at Fernando Buesa Arena. You can feel our fans' expectations and how they believe on us this year. They say the "Baskonia character" is there and more people are coming to the game. We had over 15,000 fans in a game against Madrid, which was amazing. In the city, wherever I go, people say 'maybe we can do something really big this season' and stuff like that. This is really good for us because our people are excited and this is good for our city and our organization.
Everything is really open in our group; you can see there are six teams with a 2-2 record. Six out of eight! Anything can happen and anybody can beat anybody. Barcelona beat Madrid by 1 point at the buzzer and these are our next two Euroleague opponents, both on the road. If we can win one of these two games, it could be really good for us. As for the game, there was a critical moment in which Ioannis Bourousis hit a very critical three-point shot. Before that, we had a turnover, Cory Higgins hit a three and CSKA got its first lead. Bourousis hit the big three, the fans got fired up and all of us believed we could win this game. We had a couple of steals after that and got the win, but that three-pointer by Bourousis was the key, for sure.
It is great to play with Bourousis. He is the big boss in our team, even our point guard sometimes! He moves the team whenever we pass the ball inside, because his first option is always to pass the ball. He is not a selfish player or looking to score inside all the time. When he gets the ball inside, he looks for the cutters and if nothing happens, then he plays one on one. He is really important for us. When he plays well, it is really hard to play against us. With him, we are balanced - outside game, inside game, fast breaks, good defense...
He makes us a competitive team. Off the court, he is anything but quiet. He is always talking and has an opinion about everything. He is a leader on and off the court, inside and outside the locker room. He is a great guy with a lot of experience in big Euroleague teams. We are trying to follow his leadership, because he is really important for us.
We will face Barcelona at Palau Blaugrana next week. You may think we face each other all the time, but facing a Spanish team in the Euroleague is completely different than in domestic action. The referees are different and so is the pressure. We already beat Barcelona once this year. Okay, it was a home game, but we want to go there and do it again. I think we have to play with the same mentality we played with against
CSKA. We have beaten a lot of big teams this season - Efes, CSKA, Madrid, Barcelona, Olympiacos... After all these wins, we believe we can compete against anybody if we are focused and play together. We have a tough schedule and also need to win as many games as possible in the Spanish League. We have to be competitive in both competitions. We have been playing well, as a team, and have to keep going like this.
We know Barcelona doesn't lose many games at home at this time of the year. For sure, it is tough for anyone to beat Barcelona on the road. I watched a couple of their last two games - against Gran Canaria and in the Euroleague against Real Madrid - and they are playing really good basketball. Still, I think we can match up pretty well against them if we play good defense, then we will have our chances. It is all about defense, where it all starts for us as team, what allows us to run the floor and get fast break points. Every team can be stopped - Limoges beat Valencia in the Eurocup after 28 wins and then Valencia won at Palau Blaugrana this weekend. We will play our next three games on the road – at Barcelona, Murcia and Madrid – but, every game is a challenge and I am excited about it. We want to compete and give our best.
Well, I promised I would recommend some restaurants here in Vitoria, especially in the area where I am living. There are three good Italian restaurants in my area - La Tagliatella, La Mafia and my personal favourite, Dolomiti. Of course, you have a little bit of everything here in Vitoria and great local food. I love Sagartoki, one of the best Basque restaurants in Vitoria - and probably one of the best restaurants in Spain.
They have some amazing chuleton. These are the restaurants that I like, but I have to say that my wife cooks a lot - and I like her cooking the best! It is tough to go out with the baby these days, we have to pre-schedule everything.
The good thing about beating so many big teams at home is that there is always a great atmosphere at Fernando Buesa Arena. You can feel our fans' expectations and how they believe on us this year. They say the "Baskonia character" is there and more people are coming to the game. We had over 15,000 fans in a game against Madrid, which was amazing. In the city, wherever I go, people say 'maybe we can do something really big this season' and stuff like that. This is really good for us because our people are excited and this is good for our city and our organization.
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