– You have reached the Final Four of the Alpe Adria Cup. How was the journey between the top four and how do you evaluate the current edition of this competition?
“We achieved our goal, which was getting a ticket into Final Four of Alpe Adria Cup. It was not easy. The semi-final game against Spišskí Rytieri will be our 43rd game this season, which is a high number. It is not easy to play so many games in a season. We will try to take one more step and advance to the finals.”
– With what expectations and goals are you going into the Final Four?
“We will see what the health situation of our team will be. Šafarčík got injured again, the other guys are healthy. It will also depend on how the Spišskí Rytieri are doing. They are the current Slovak league champion, so they are a good team with 5 foreigners. We will prepare well; the match is open 50-50.”
– Spišskí Rytieri will be your semi-final opponent. What do you know about your opponent? How does he play, on what does he rely on in his tactics?
“They have great experience under the rim in Baťka, Gavrilović and Stevanović. Each player shoots well from three-point range. It’s a specific team, they have tall players who shoot for three. That’s what we’re going to focus on, also the pick-n-pop. I think it will be very important to control the rebounding. When we controlled that activity in every game, it gave us positive result at the end. We’re going to try to play fast, but control the turnovers, because there have been a lot of turnovers in the last couple of games.”
– You know your opponent from the Federal Cup. Could it be an advantage that you already have some knowledge about him?
“We played in the Federal Cup, but that was more of a pre-season game. We have a different squad compared to that game. A lot of the current players didn’t play then on both sides. Spišskí Rytieri changed quite a few players, so it won’t be the same game as in the Federal Cup.”
– The Final Four is played in single game format, which is a change in comparison with past seasons. From your point of view, what makes this format special?
“It was also clear at the Final Four of the Czech Cup, where Opava surprisingly won the whole event. It’s special, every match is open and the favourites often don’t win in the end. As a format it’s interesting, I’m looking forward to the Final Four. We have a good atmosphere in the team, we won a medal at the Czech Cup for the first time in four years. I hope all the games will be dramatic. Every team has a chance to win.”
– Final Four of Alpe Adria Cup will be held in front of TV cameras and there is also a prize money at stake. How do you see the progress of the competition that the management is trying to make?
“Every year the Alpe Adria Cup gets better and better. Very good teams made it to the Final Four. One great team like Dabrowa Górnicza didn’t manage to get here. Vienna and Levice dominate their leagues. The current Slovak league champion is here, so it’s a good competition. The important thing is that it will be played in front of TV cameras.”
