There a few reasons to why we were able to do that. First of all, our club keeps developing — a merit of our president whose maximalist approach is contagious. That's why Unics always plays to win in every game. Secondly, we have some high-caliber players on our team. Most of them are very experienced sportsmen who have achieved a lot in their careers. In the first half of the season, they needed some time to get used to each other and to learn to understand each other. And now they are all on the same page — they know what kind of basketball Unics stands for.

The cornerstone of our game is defense, not offense. In the first games of the season our players saw how good our opponents are at attacking the basket and understood that it would be very difficult to achieve anything in the Euroleague unless we play great defense. And we have managed to improve our defense since then. Another important part of our game is our team spirit. Our players don't care about who scored most points, they focus on who is in the best position to attack the basket. So if a player is free, he gets the ball. Our ball movement is better now than in the beginning of the season, and you can see it by the number of assists we make. We have also become better at taking care of the ball and committing fewer turnovers. The third important issue is controlling the boards. And though we have improved at it, we are still not able to do it every game, so this is something we have to deal with. We don't necessarily have to win the rebounding battle by double figures every time – and, by the way, it would be very tough to do so in the Euroleague. But we want to control our glass and make it tough for our opponents on their glass.

As I already mentioned, we did take a step forward during the season, but now we need to take another step in order to do well in the Top 16. The thing is, we still have much to improve: our rebounding, our offense, our defense – everything. We have to execute better and avoid losing concentration and allowing our opponents to take free shots. This is going to be crucial, if we want to be a worthy opponent in our very tough Top 16 group. You see, there are no weak teams in the Euroleague, but now only the top teams are left.

One of our opponents, Panathinaikos, is of course the reigning Euroleague champion, a club with impressive traditions, great players and a coach, Zeljko Obradovic, who is one of the most successful European coaches. It doesn't matter at which place Panathinaikos finished the regular season — this team is a true giant of European basketball who won't give up without a fight. Fenerbahce Ulker is another tradition-rich club, and since the Final Four will take place in Istanbul, they will be extremely motivated to compete to represent Turkish basketball at the Final Four in Turkey. They will certainly do all they can to qualify. And let's not forget that they have a very strong roster and that they did well in the regular season by finishing first in their group. The last team in our group, Emporio Armani, also has lots of great players. And though they maybe didn't play up to their potential in the regular season, it doesn't mean anything now. They will be a tough foe to beat for any team.

So we are up against three extremely strong clubs, but you know, before the first whistle, all teams have equal chances of qualifying for the playoffs. And that's our goal, of course. But instead of thinking about it, we are going to continue our game-to-game approach, by focusing at one game at a time. We are going to do our best to win every game. And hopefully, all our players will be ready to perform at their best. Some of our guys had minor injuries, but now everybody is back on the court and ready to fight for every ball.

Now, let me once again congratulate you all with the new year and wish you happiness, good health and peace. Come and watch Euroleague games – in all the countries where it's possible! In Euroleague games, the level of anxiety and passion is beyond limits, so come and support your team. You won't regret it, because you'll see a classy show — the best in Europe, which is second to none elsewhere. As to our fans, the fans of Unics Kazan, I would like to thank you for your support in the regular season, and I want to invite you to keep supporting us the same way. We, on the other hand, will try not to disappoint you and give you joy with our game. Come and see us play the beautiful game of basketball against the best teams in Europe!