By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@Eurohoops.net
Pete Mickael has to continue fighting, but this time not on the court. In a press conference held in Barcelona the veteran American forward announced his need to travel to his home country for medical reasons: “When it comes to playing basketball, it is a second option for me in my life. The first option is to get healthy and seek all the answers that I can to stop the problem that I have in my blood. Basically, I am going to the United States in two weeks to meet with a specialist, maybe one of the best specialists in the world, who has treated NBA players with the same problem. I am going to the States and I will spend an extensive amount of time in there – maybe four months, maybe six, maybe a year, maybe forever. That’s only for my health, that’s not concerning basketball”.
Michael had a long career in Europe with stops in Greece for Peristeri and Makedonikos, but he played in the highest level and won the Euroleague in 2010 as a member of Barcelona: “There is no other club like this in the world. We can go NBA, Europe, the people is what makes this club special and I want to thank everybody in this club for the support that they have given me, even believing in me after I had this problem the first time, that I could come back and help this team win. I am proud of that, the years that I have been in this club, the type of people that I have met, from the top of the club, Sandro Rossell, to the bottom of it”.
He would like to be in London for the Euroleague Final Four, but he doesn’t know if this can be possible: “I would love to be with the team in the Final Four. For me, the most important thing is to be with the team but some days it is not always possible. Sometimes you take medication, and it controls you; you don’t control yourself,. That’s kind of what I go through some days. It is like any problem you have, some days are good days and some other are bad days. I would love to go to the Final Four. I don’t know if that is going to be possible but I would love to go.”
Mickeal was joined at the press conference by FC Barcelona Regal head coach Xavi Pascual and the club’s sports director, Joan Creus.