Being that it's my first year in the EuroCup, it definitely was eye-opening that anybody can beat anybody no matter what the rankings are, so the fact that we are in the playoffs is a blessing. But the seeding, you can't underestimate anybody. Anybody could give you their best game on any given night. For instance, Prometey was first in our group and not a lot of people counted on them early in the season. D.J. Stephens is a freak athlete! I didn't get a chance to play against Bursaspor in Turkiye to really get a good feel for how they play, because the first time they came in and brought it to us. So the fact that I didn't get to go into Turkiye and really get a good feeling of if that's really the toughest team we have played, I feel like they are one of those teams as well that you can't underestimate. The one-game elimination is a game-changer, for real.
Isiaha Mike, Bourg: 'It's a beautiful time of the year!'
"The one-game elimination is a game changer, for real."
I love playing the EuroCup. I definitely didn't like our losing streak, for sure. That was a tough moment for us and for me personally. But I liked adjusting a lot to the European competition, learning more and more how to change my game to be effective and efficient within the EuroCup, and just learning more about myself and how to fit in and improve in areas where I need to improve to make a name for myself. But it has definitely been a big challenge and I love it. We have a very, very skilled team. As you have seen, anybody, any given night can score 20 points, from James [Palmer] to even Kevin Kokila right now, who has been playing really well these past few games. We are going to need him in these coming weeks. I love watching Pepe [Pierre Pelos] play. That last game against Cedevita was insane. He just lit up! But because we have such a skilled team top to bottom, the ball has to move. It's hard for a team to really scout and lock in on just one player because if you take one player away, you don't help on one side. Somebody is going to take advantage of that. That's why moving the ball is so important for us because everybody's a threat.
We will play against Promitheas in the eighthfinals. It's definitely a new challenge. Like I said, you can't underestimate anybody. We are going to prepare and try to steal the game out there. Playing on the road isn't easy anywhere, so we have to lock in and just give it our best. Anybody can beat anybody, it's a beautiful time of the year! I am looking forward to it a lot because this is a chance to make a name for ourselves. Last year, Bourg didn't even make the playoffs and we got an invite back into the EuroCup to make the playoffs this year and have a chance to win a title. That's what you dream of as a basketball player, especially at the European European level, right under the EuroLeague. So it's a chance to shine.
If we want to be competitive, we need to have a consistent defensive stance. That's been the staple of our good games. When we play really, really good defense, we can get out in transition. And once we get out in transition and we get easy baskets, our scorers start to feel the rhythm a little bit better and we can control the tempo of the game as opposed to playing in a hole. Even when shots aren't falling, when we play really good defense, we can get out in transition a lot. So I feel like that, right there, will definitely help our half-court offense for sure, getting easy baskets out of defensive transition.
"This is a chance to make a name for ourselves."
Basketball is 90% mental, to begin with. Even in these do-or-die games, it's just focusing, not letting the moment get too big. Yes, it's the playoffs. Yes, it's the EuroCup Playoffs. It's a chance to get to the EuroLeague. All these things are running through your head, but it's important to stay in the moment, not let all these other things cloud your mind, and just focus on the task at hand. And that's winning this game. Don't think, "Okay, we win this game, we are going to play these guys next". No, no. Let's just work. Let's just stay in this moment right here. Let's try to win this game. Let's give this possession our all. Let's stay together as a unit. All that stuff comes into play. I think staying in the moment is probably the biggest thing.