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Tommy Klepeisz, Ulm: 'I always loved do-or-die games'

Tommy Klepeisz, Ulm: 'I always loved do-or-die games'

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4 March 20246 Mins read

Tommy Klepeisz, Ulm: 'I always loved do-or-die games'

The EuroCup Playoffs are finally here! It has been a long season and we have had a couple of ups and downs, but we are happy to have the home-court advantage. That was our goal and we are happy that it's finally coming to the very important part of the season. That's where everybody wants to play and we manage to do so, and even managed to have this game at home so we are all looking forward to it.

We will play against this amazing team, Joventut Badalona. It's always great to have a chance to play and compete against teams like this. That's why when I wasn't playing in the EuroCup, as a basketball player, you always look at those international games and you would be like, "damn, I want to play against like Spanish top teams" and now, I can do this. Joventut is definitely one of the teams that is always in the playoffs in Spain. And that's why you always want to compete against those guys. They have a couple of legends on their roster and it's fun to compete against the best.

The truth is we have crossed paths several times in the last three seasons. Two years ago, there was an amazing upset. Nobody expected this to happen. It was also, I think, the first time that we played in this format with the first against the eighth seed from the two different groups. We managed to catch them off guard and surprise them in this one do-or-die game at home [in the 2022 EuroCup eighthfinals]. And I think that hurt them a lot. We would have loved to advance to the next round too, because we also had a solid chance in Bologna, but we didn't make it. And then last year we played them twice: at home they beat us pretty tough. At their place, we were up I think by by 15 or maybe even 20, double digits for sure, and then they came back and beat us. So we lost twice to them last season, I remember. We will see this time.

"It's definitely going to be close and I think both teams are similar."

We took part in the German Cup and reached the final and Joventut didn't qualify for the Spanish Copa del Rey. It's interesting because now it's definitely good for us because we have been in the situation of a do-or-die game two weeks ago. We played one solid game, a really good game against ALBA Berlin. In the final, we looked a little bit tired, but we had at least two times the situation of a do-or-die which I think we managed pretty well. On the other hand, they had more time to rest, so it's going to be hard to tell which one is the better one now, but definitely interesting.

The home-court advantage definitely helps. It's always special to have a do-or-die game, and it's special to have it in front of your own crowd, your home crowd. But like we saw two years ago, upsets always happen, and now I wouldn't even speak of a huge upset because we played fourth against fifth in each group. Both teams are really close together and we just have the luck to be at home and not have to travel. It's definitely going to be close and I think both teams are similar, so it is going to be very interesting.

Prometey beat Joventut, rallying in the fourth quarter of the final regular season game to change the playoff bracket. It's amazing. This is why we all love the game. You can't rest and lean back for 5 minutes because in 5 minutes, you might mess up your whole season in a bad moment. So you really have to be focused and have to play at your best at all times. In the EuroCup Playoffs, being at home and having home-court advantage sometimes depends on one good quarter or 5 good minutes. And that's why we love this competition, because teams are very close together and there's a lot of head-to-head decisions. So you need to be sharp throughout the whole season to have a good place at the end for the postseason.

The winner will play against Paris Basketball in the quarterfinals but it is not something we can focus on right now because we have our hands full with Joventut and we have to focus on this game. It's a very important game and they have enough talent and quality to focus on them, so we can even think of what's happening after this game. I always loved do-or-die games. Even when I was really young, I got to appreciate them. But also on the other side, you understand that the number of those games in your career isn't countless, so maybe you kind of appreciate them more because of this. And you have a little smile sometimes when you think about this more than all the pressure and focus. You also sometimes can zoom a little bit out and be like: "Man, I'm glad, I'm happy to be in this position to play do-or-die games".

"What more can you ask for in basketball? A do-or-die with the season on the line."

I guess a lot of people will be checking out how Trevion Williams plays against Ante Tomic. We are talking about two of the best passing centers in Europe. We have seen Ante Tomic throw his behind-the-head passes for 15 years now, probably. And now we see Trevion do this. We love that he has a very high basketball IQ, and it's fun to play with Trevion. It is always hard to compete against Ante because he knows what he is doing and sees the whole court, so we have to be aware of that all the time.

In Germany, it's always different during the week to get fans into the buildings but if you understand basketball and you are really someone who enjoys basketball, you want to see this game. It's a do-or-die game. It's a Spanish powerhouse against a German powerhouse. What more can you ask for in basketball? A do-or-die with the season on the line. I hope the crowd will be there for us on Tuesday night. I assume Ulm fans understand what's at stake, so they will come and support us!