By Bugra Uzar / info@eurohoops.net
“We’re excited to be part of the best team in Europe. It may seem granted or automatic to be in the Final Four but it’s not like that. There’s a lot of work behind and we deserved this”, says the Italian superstar when asked about his thoughts on making it to Belgrade.
As for how the reigning champions deal with the pressure, Datome explains: “Everybody wants to beat us, which is good. It doesn’t allow you to relax and pushes you to work every day. I’m lucky to be in a group of guys that push each other to work hard. This is our mentality.”
Fenerbahce takes over Zalgiris in the semi-final: “It’s a single game, everything can happen; they deserved to be in the Final Four. They’re a very tough team and smart players”. Datome finds common ground between the Lithuanians and Fenerbahce: “I think it will be a very nice match-up. There’s a lot of stuff to take care of, but I’m confident that we’ll be ready for these 40 minutes.”
Datome admits that Zeljko Obradovic gives him extra motivation for the Final Four: “I’m happy to be his player, he’s another motivation behind our preparation. He has a lot of experience in such games.”
Fenerbahce has a rowdy fanbase and the Italian star is aware of that: “They don’t surprise me anymore [laughs]. They’re a huge part of our success. I know they’re going to be noisy. Some of them were pretty confident, they got their tickets before we even qualified [smiles]”.
Check out the full interview:
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