From fibaeurope.com
Proteas EKA AEL have always had the glitz and glamour as the host team for the EuroCup All-Star Game, but now the club has a chance to make its mark as champions.
The Cyprus outfit will host the competition's prestigious Final Four from April 18-20 and take on Belgian outfit Dexia Mons-Hainaut in one semi-final.
Tartu Rock faces Barons Riga in the other semi.
The Limassol club was so desperate to stage the climax of the tournament that the wheels were already in motion of bidding for it before Proteas had even won their quarter-final showdown with Khimik.
But really, winning a European title was on the minds of the players before the opening tip of the season.
It was, for example, why former club scoring machine Duane Woodward decided to return from Italy in the summer.
Quote:"That was the main reason why I came back, to get this far," Woodward said. "That was our goal."
Quote:"We came here for that,"
French sharpshooter Karim Souchu added.
Quote:"We've got a great group of players. We're excited about it. It was a long, tough road, but we made it."
Tough road, indeed!
The club, when it wasn't playing well at the beginning of the campaign, decided to part with popular Ukrainian coach Igors Miglinieks and replace him with American Charles Barton.
Captain Milutin Aleksic spoke candidly about the change in February, once Barton had been in the job for a while.
Quote:"Charles, for me, was a big surprise"
Aleksic said.
Quote:"I never had a chance to work with an American coach. It was a strange philosophy, how he talks to players, and I was wondering what it would be like.
"Now I know his philosophy and style. I think he helped all of us achieve targets for this season but I also liked our former coach Igors Miglinieks. He was good, too."
The basketball gods then showed they have a sense of humor.
After Miglinieks landed a new job at another EuroCup side, Spartak St. Petersburg, Spartak and Proteas wound up together in Group C of the Qualifying Round.
Proteas AEL fell behind early in the first game at Spartak but hit back for an 81-77 win and then beat them a second time, 72-71 back in Limassol.
That's right, a team from tiny Cyprus beat Spartak of the rich Russian Superleague and Proteas AEL ended up finishing top of the group with five wins and just one defeat.
If there were any doubts about their ability to win the championship, those two triumphs over Spartak, some of the players said, gave them the self belief that they are good enough to go all the way.
And when Limassol was awarded the Final Four, thus giving Proteas AEL home-court advantage, the fans and club management positively jumped for joy.
Quote:"They are special,"
Aleksic said of the fans.
Quote:"This is a very hard place to play. Just look at the good teams we haven't lost to here. (Virtus) Bologna, Estudiantes, Azovmash, (Asvel) Villeurbanne - a lot came last year and lost. That means we have very big home advantage."
Aleksic, a Serbian, is a huge crowd favourite and was a starter for Europe at the All Star Event who leads the club in scoring at almost 18 points per game, and rebounding at 7.3.
Woodward is second in the scoring charts at 13.5 and Souchu third at 11.
Barton also gets great production out of Ryan Randle, a 2.06m center who often plays bigger than Texas - the American state he was born in almost 27 years ago.
In 10 EuroCup games with Proteas AEL, he has averaged 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds.
Frenchman Maxime Zianveni has also been a big producer by scoring 9.2 points per game. He had a season-high 19 in the Game Two triumph over Khimik that clinched a place in the Final Four.
Quote:"It's wide open,"
Woodward said.
Quote:"I can't say there is any team in particular that stands out. But you better look at us, we finished first in our group and I think we have a lot of time to prepare."