Ivica Jurkovic, Turk Telekom
 When he was signed in the middle of an already good season, both Turk Telekom and Ivica Jurkovic knew what their agreement was. A veteran big man who has played in a Final Four and been called to duty all over Europe, Jurkovic is making his ULEB Cup debut at 35 for one major reason: experience. Whether his minutes are slight or he is needed all in one night, the value of Jurkovic's experience were not lost on Turk Telekom as this team challenges on all fronts to make a big name for itself. "The head coach of Unics Kazan, Aco Petrovic, is my ex-coach from Lokomotiv Rostov. We know each other very well. He is a good friend of mine. I know some players from Kazan and one of those guys is my ex-teammate Marko Tusek.. As I said before, I only know some players, nothing about their game this year. I think we had a very difficult group in the first round. We were unlucky to get Kazan in the draw, so I hope all our troubles are past us by the second round. These won't be easy games for sure. But the only thing I know is that we will try every way we can."
"I came to the team in the middle of the season and it's not easy in this task to adjust the system in a little while. But I am at least luckier than most newcomers because Turk Telekom is my ex-team and I know the coach and some players from the past. Now, I'm helping the team at a limited level. But I hope in the future to help more. Experience is the most important advantage for me to cut the adjustment period shorter. In the team, we know each other, they know what I can do. If you are winning, it doesn't matter if you play or not, if the team is good. This season it will be much more difficult than the past. Because we are trying to reach many targets in a much stronger Turkish League and in a very, very strong ULEB Cup."
"You know, there's no player in the world that wants to remain at the bench and just watch the game without making any help in the team. Everybody wants to enjoy the game. We are all trying to do everyting to stay on top position of form to help the team as much as we can. It makes a little bit pressure for sure to be the favorites. But if you want to go top at the favorites, the others want to take you down. But there's no time to make mistake. I think Turk Telekom is a good team with good formation this year and I hope we'll go until the end." |
Virgil Stanescu , Unics Kazan
 To call Unics Kazan center Virgil Stanescu a journeyman reflects the facts of his having played for seven teams in as many seasons, but also reflects the evidence that what he does - score, rebound, defend and distribute well in a support role - is in high demand everywhere. Among his stops was Turk Telekom, whom Unics now faces in the Last 32, and whose head coach Stanescu played for, too. That is another benefit of being a journeyman - giving your team a scouting edge headed into the series. "This series comes at a very good time for us. We struggled a bit in the Russian Cup on our own floor, losing late to CSKA, but in the process we proved our defense was good by not allowing one of the top teams in Europe to score. We have a system that works, I think. We didn't get a chance to see Turk Telekom on video yet, but I think it's very good that they come to our court first. It's going to be difficult for them to play here and that could bring us more confidence."
"It has been a while since I was at Turk Telekom, but I know the coach, Ercument Sunter, and I know that I liked playing for him. I know his style a bit. I just think they are a very tough team and will be coming into this series confident after winning the Turkish Cup and doing well all season in their domestic league. On the flip side, we're play much better in the last month or more. So, I think going be a real tough matchup for that reason. We were not lucky to get thim in the first round, but they aren't lucky, either, to get us. We're underdogs because we played bad in the beginning of the season, but we're playing much better now."
"We had a system change that came with our coaching change in the middle of the season. I won't say there was anything wrong with the coaching system before, but the new system I think fits our character more and helps us take advantage of our strengths. I think we have a very tough defense now. We proved it already by letting up very few points in our later games. The other thing is we have a group of people that really clicks off court and on court, and it's starting to show. We look out for each other." |