By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@euroleague.net
After a stellar campaign with FYROM in the last Eurobasket, Pero Antic was signed to Olympiacos in order to give some experience to a roster full of young guns. Just before the Euroleague Final Four everybody has to admit that the choice of coach Dusan Ivkovic was right and Pero, a 30 years old rookie in the Final Four, is ready to upset Barcelona.
– Is that the first final four in your career?
“In Euroleague, yes. I have played in some others championships. But in Euroleague there isn’t a biggest challenge and I will try to show myself first of all great delight and try to help my team”.
– Are you fired up for these days?
“For sure. Everybody can’t wait to go to the Olympics in the summer and that’s the… Olympics for the league”.
– Olympiacos was the underdog almost for the whole season. When did you realize that you could play in Final Four of Euroleague?
“We were underdogs for some people, nobody talked about us and it was easy for us to work hard, play game by game. It was a long distance until Final Four. But we won some very important games, some big teams and we proved that we have the best chemistry in the team”.
– There was faith in the team for your success?
“We believed in each other. We had great chemistry and that’s important for the team regardless if don’t have so many expensive players”.
– That will be your secret against Barcelona in the semifinal?
“Of course, the chemistry and the energy. We have to play 40 minutes hard defense and play the best we have”.
– Coach Duda Ivkovic told that Olympiacos will try to run and have a lot transition game against Barcelona…
“We will play very good defense and then, through our defense, we will run. They are old team and we can run because we have a lot fast players. If you play well in defense we will have a plus in the offense and the score will be in our favor”.
– Who is the player of Barcelona are worried more for?
“If you see the roster of Barcelona, you have to worry for twelve players and the other guys. The most experienced and the leaders of the team are Navarro and Lorbek, who is a center that can play also inside and outside. We have to stop these two guys. This doesn’t mean that the others are bad but these are the biggest offensive threats for Olympiacos”.
– Do you agree that Barcelona has the best front line in Europe?
“They have one of the best in the offense as I know by the stats. So, the biggest problem will be in the offense, to stop them, to stop their scoring. If we succeed it, it will be a big plus for us”.
– Your thoughts are only on Barcelona or go further?
“Only on Barcelona. If think further, you will not go there. That’s the way we go, step by step, practice by practice and so we go through. The coach didn’t allow the players, the captain to think further. We have to continue work hard and think day by day”.
– What’s your prediction for the other semifinal, Panathinaikos against CSKA?
“CSKA is very good team, but Panathinaikos is an experienced team and it’s hard to say what will happen there. But if we qualify, I prefer to play against Panathinaikos. It would be better for the Greek basketball and us. Moreover, I suggest for the winner in Istanbul to start the Greek playoffs series with a win (laughing)”.
– If that happen you will have the opportunity to play in an Olympiacos-Panathinaikos game with fans of both teams in the same (full) court…
“Yes! It would be exciting! I have experienced a full gym with fans only by one team in championship and few fans from both of them in an almost empty court in cup final”.