In what sort of condition does your team arrive to the quarterfinals to face Pamesa Valencia?

"We are going to be in good shape. We dropped a couple of games recently but I think we will be fine. Everybody is very motivated and ready to play. Maciej Lampe returned to the team already and everyone is expected to be back to play against Pamesa. We will be at 100 percent, with the full team, excited and ready to play."


Who among their players have you faced and what problems do they present?
I haven't seen Pamesa ye,t but of course I know some of their players. I am sure that by the time we get there, we will know everything about them. Of course, I have played many times against Shammond Williams. He is a very talented player, very fast and it is always a challenge to play against him. We have to come out there and take care of what we have to do. If we do that, I think we will be fine. I also played twice against Kenny Gregory last season, when he was in Efes and I was in Partizan. He is very athletic and a good scorer. Our coach does a really good job on scouting opponents, what they like to do on court and how to beat them."

How have things changed for Khimki since Sergio Scariolo became its new coach?

"I think we play better defense since he got here. We were more offense-oriented before he arrived. We are now more defensive-minded. I think that is the biggest difference for us now."

What does your team have to do to overcome Pamesa and what will be the keys to the game?

"Execution. I think we have to execute our plays well to beat Pamesa. We are a big team with a big budget, this and that... but when the ball is thrown up by the referee, money or big names don't count. It is all about the best team winning the game. We have to look out and play the best game we can. On the other hand, when I played for Partizan last year, I loved to play against big-named teams and show them that we could beat them. We have to consider that other teams will go out there that same mentality."

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Eurocupbasketball.com