NEWS

Commenting on the ULEB European League quarter final victory of Italy’s Montepaschi Siena team over Fenerbahçe Ülker, training coach Bogdan Tanjevic had this to say: "I’m saying farewell to my good feelings about the Euroleague.  I think we will be playing in the final four next season.”  The technical director indicated that, in general, getting into the final 8 was a significant experience. “In getting here, we suffered some very serious setbacks. We had a period when we were trying to cope with Semih and Mirsad's injuries, sickness and trying to keep our fitness graphics up to standard… Ibrahim Kutluay left the team in December. After that we felt his loss and experienced some serious deficiencies.  I think we were both satisfied with the way he left, because it gave the younger players a chance to show their talents. That helped us to look more hopefully toward the future. So with that said, I think we will get the semi-finals next year," he said.

WE LEFT THE GIANTS IN THE DUST

Commenting on the significance of the team’s advance into the final 8, Tanjeviç said, “I’m satisfied because they advanced into the top 8 with very important European basketball teams like Panathinaikos, Aris, Unicaja Malaga, Real Madrid, Rytas and Cibona Zagreb. More than our success, what makes me happy is that we did it with young players.” On the other hand, the only series of ULEB European League quarter final matches that has been resolved is the one between Fenerbahçe and Siena. The other series of matches are all tied at 1-1, with the matches finishing as follows: Partizan -Tau Ceramica 76-55, Barcelona-Maccabi Tel Aviv 83-74 and CSKA Moscow’s away game at Olympiakos 83-73. The third games of these series will be played on April 9th and 10th.