Partizan basketball player Aleksa Avramovic, in an extensive interview with the Greek Gazzetta, touched on various topics, including his summer with the Serbian national team, the loss to Real Madrid in the playoffs, the EuroLeague, and the upcoming match against Olympiacos.
Avramović was one of the key players for the Serbian national team in their journey to a silver medal at the World Cup, which nobody expected. After that, he gained tremendous self-confidence, which is noticeable in his performances with Partizan.
‘Truth be told, I’ve reached the peak of my career in recent months. I feel really good. Everything we achieved with Serbia at the World Cup was fantastic. I feel immense pride in what I experienced, not just me but all the players. Together, we accomplished many great things, won a silver medal, and that’s something we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.’
As for Partizan, our goals are the same as last year. We will try to do something more, but we know the season is long. We need to start playing better on both ends, offense and defense. We know we have the potential in both areas, but we need to take a step forward,” Aleksa Avramovic said.
Then the Partizan guard addressed the series against Real Madrid. Partizan led 2-0 and had three match points to reach the Final Four. In the end, they couldn’t make it.
“A lot of things happened at that moment, not everything was related to basketball. We went through some very tough situations that affected us all. We had injuries, suspensions… All of that was a good wind in Real’s sails to make a comeback… In the end, they won the EuroLeague and they deserve congratulations. Those who reach this level and make it to the finals deserve to win it. Even Olympiacos was in the lead throughout the game. But Sergio Llull is Sergio Llull. He didn’t play well, but in the end, he got the ball and made the shot.”
The Partizan team is significantly different from that period now.
“Even last year, up to the middle of the season, many didn’t consider us in serious projections. However, from a certain point, we started to play better and became a team you don’t want to face. This year, we’ve entered a reconstruction process, losing many important players, two playmakers, and the best center in Europe alongside Walter Tavares.
Honestly, Mathias Lessort and Tavares were two big men who made a difference last year. We lost him, Ioannis Papapetrou, Dante Exum, and Yam Madar. As for the playmakers, it’s a very important position for Partizan’s system, for everything… But again, we’re building a team with new players. I believe we have a good roster and good chances to perform better.”
Tonight, they face Olympiacos at 20:15, and Avramovic had nothing but praise for them.
‘They have the best center in Europe and one of the best in the world. The best transfer in recent years. I played with Nikola Milutinov, and it’s fantastic. It’s a big deal for Olympiacos to have him. I believe they, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, are in the running for the Final Four,” Avramovic concluded.