Presenting the Final Four participants, Split wants to surprise in at least one game

Home team Piešťanské Čajky will challenge KAŽL Split in the opening semi-final match of the Final Four of the women’s version of the Alpe Adria Cup. The Croatian team fulfilled its goal by qualifying for this event, but still wants to surprise in at least one more match.

– You are part of the Final Four of the Alpe Adria Cup. How do you feel about the fact that you managed to get through the group stage?

„Before the start of the Alpe Adria Cup, we set some goals for ourselves—achieving at least one victory (when it is achieved, then another one is sought, etc.). When we saw that we could fight for a place in the Final Four, we set that goal and eventually achieved it. So we can say that we are satisfied with the performance in the group, the 2nd place, and our placement in the Final Four of the Alpe Adria Cup.“

– How do you evaluate your performance in the Alpe Adria Cup so far?

„We think we managed to show what we can do, the results themselves show that Slávia Banská Bystrica was better than us and that we were better than Maribor and Klosterneuburg. And we think that is realistic.“

– You are part of the first year of this competition, how do you evaluate it and how do you feel about its potential in the future?

„This is the first performance of this edition, and for now we can say that it is certainly something new, a matchup against teams from other countries, a different experience that will certainly mean a lot to our young players. We can certainly give it a thumbs up. As for the future, there is certainly room for improvement. We believe that the leadership of the competition will know how to make the Alpe Adria Cup better and progress in all possible segments. In the end, time will give all the answers.“

– The Final Four is in front of you, what kind of mindset are you going into it with?

„We are happy that we won a place in the Final Four and the possibility of new matches with quality opponents. Honestly, we didn’t think too much because time and schedule don’t give us too many possibilities, we are constantly in the rhythm of traveling and competing.“

– What can you already say about your semi-final opponent?

As for our opponent, we are collecting a little bit of informations, we know a lot, and they are certainly the favorites in our match. They are the leading team of the Slovak League, they were first in their AAC group. They are a more experienced team with a greater rotation. We will try to provide as strong resistance as possible, the aggravating circumstance is also the 15–16-hour bus ride.

– What will be the key to achieving your goals and ambitions?

„We have achieved our goal, we are going to the Final Four without any imperative, and of course we will try to be as good as possible, if we can hopefully surprise at least in one game.“