Hello again, Eurocup fans. Yes, I’m back and yes, we managed to make it to the Eurocup Quarterfinals and win our Last 16 group! It is a great success not only for a young team like Donetsk, but also for Ukrainian basketball. We are very happy that we accomplished this result. We managed to beat Asvel at home and then went to Thessaloniki and downed Aris to finish first. We had nice support in our home game against Asvel - people were fully aware that a win would put us in the next round. We didn't have such a big crowd as we had against Khimki, but it was pretty good and helped us in the moments when we couldn't find our rhythm. We knew that Asvel plays tough and physical, so we kept the pressure on all game long. We managed to get a good lead in the fourth quarter and Ramel Curry played a great second half, also Vule Avdalovic, which helped to win that game.

We were looking forward to getting to Thessaloniki and experiencing some good weather, but you know what? Just as I arrived, I asked a Greek guy in the airport what the weather would be like and he said "you are not really lucky. It will rain the whole day tomorrow."

And he was right. It rained the whole day.

We had much better weather on Tuesday, but it was the day of the game, We did have a chance to enjoy the sun, even if it was for a second! The club is taking good care of us, flying us over two days in advance to face important games in the best condition. It helps a lot and we really appreciate that. The club really understands that it is really hard for us... more

Hello again. I am pleased to write to you that we at BC Donetsk currently lead our Last 16 group. Yes, sir! We managed to beat Khimki by 18 points and get first place. Khimki had not lost in the Eurocup this season and since we lost by 13 at their place - where we hope to return for the Eurocup Finals! – we are now tied with them at 3-1, but with the tie-break advantage. We talked about winning the game, but never about winning by more than 13, but we played a very good fourth quarter and managed to do it! We played very tough and it paid off. Everybody contributed; it was basically a team win! We didnt depend on one guy throughout the whole game and everybody at a certain moment helped in a certain way. It was pretty cool to have that.

Fact is, we led in the early going even when we werent played very good on offense. No-one but Vule Avdalovic was able to find his rhythm, but he kept us in the game in the beginning. Later on, everybody kind of picked up and found his own rhythm and we were hard to stop. We had some chances to beat Khimki in Russia, but made some mistakes down the stretch. You cannot make too many mistakes against these top teams. You cant have a lot of minutes without scoring. We have a couple of those in the third and especially in the fourth quarter. We were down by 7 and made enough mistakes to have an opportunity to win it. In the end, 13 points was not a real picture of how we played in Khimki.

We prepared for the game so much that I think we put too much pressure on ourselves. We were kind of anxious to start the... more

Hello again, Eurocup fans! Ivan Radenovic of BC Donetsk here, getting back to you after a nice home win against Aris. It has been our sixth consecutive Eurocup win and so we are undefeated (2-0) in the Last 16 until now. It has been a good start, especially due to our very important road win against a good team like Asvel and their good home crowd in Lyon. It was very important to stay confident. We also had a pretty good win against Aris. We didnt play the way we did against Asvel, but it was good enough to beat a good team and go up to 2-0. We cant complaint until now, even when we know that next we play BC Khimki twice and that is the hardest opponent in this group.

We knew that the game against Asvel in Lyon was the most important one in this round, especially being the first one. We were thinking like that: if we got that first win, we had a pretty good chance to go from the Last 16 to the Quarterfinals. We went into the game with that perception and it paid off. You know what? We arrived in Lyon on Sunday, two nights before the game, and that made things easier, because we had a whole day to rest from the trip. We had the chance to watch video and had two practices the day before the game. We had enoguh time to prepare for the game and I think that helped us to play better and get that road win.

We were kind of joking about Vule Avdalovics ability to speak French, as he played for Cholet Basket last season. We were listening carefully to everything he said while speaking French. I can't really tell you how good he is, but it definitely sounds better than his Russian! I studied French for many... more

Hello, Eurocup fans, Happy New Year! This is Ivan Radenovic of BC Donetsk, getting back to you days before the start of a new phase - the Last 16! Our team has been busy during the Eurocup holiday break - actually, we didn't have any break at all. The first part of the Eurocup season was tough for us because we travelled to a lot of distant destinations in Europe. Every time, we had to get back to Ukraine and play the Ukrainian League right away. Our schedule has been pretty tight even these days. We’re still focusing on the Ukrainian League but can’t help being a bit anxious looking ahead because we can't wait to start the Last 16.

We finished the regular season with a good win against BCM Gravelines. We had to try to beat them by 26 points to finish first but that was very difficult, obviously. We basicly had to play a perfect game and expect Gravelines to have a bad day if we wanted to beat a team like that by such a big margin. Confidence-wise, it was very important for us to keep our winning streak going and to have a better record. Our team gets better in every game we win and we are building strong team chemistry. We used that win for that, too - the more wins we can get, the better, of course!

As you probably know, we will face Khimki, Aris and Asvel in our Last 16 group... more

Hello everyone! This is once again Ivan Radenovic of BC Donetsk. As I get back to all of you Eurocup fans, Donetsk has beaten Hapoel Jerusalem on the road and qualified to the Last 16. It was a tough game and we knew we couldn't lose it if we wanted to go straight to the next round. We took it that way and the pressure was on both teams. It was not a pretty game to watch, but we got away with a win. We had the lead for a long time, then they came back, but we were confident. I can't say that we knew we were going to win but knew that we could do it and go to the next round - and we did! I had my best game so far, 11 points and 10 rebounds. It was a tough game with a lot of fouls and sometimes you have to step up and take them for the team. Like I said in my previous blog, we have a lot of guys who can score.

I saw a lot of familiar faces before leaving Israel - some I didn't even expect to see at all! It was a good thing to meet my old Menorca teammate Raviv Limonad. We were in Menorca last season and spent a lot of time together, so it was great to see him again in Israel. Who knows when I will have the next chance to see him? Raviv actually came to the game and went to dinner after that to talk about the good old times in Menorca. The funny thing the day after, when I was about to get on a plane in Kyiv, on the way back to Donetsk, someone tapped on my shoulder and pointed on floor above where we were sitting. I looked up and see Dusko Savanovic and Stanko Barac of Anadolu Efes waving at me! They were on their way from Istanbul to Tel Aviv to play Maccabi Electra. It was pretty funny thing as we had this conversation... more

Hello, Eurocup Fans! Yes, you are right, I am Ivan Radenovic of BC Donetsk. As I am writing this, Donetsk just beat Cibona by 17 points and we have a 2-1 record in Group A. After our bad loss against Gravelines in France, it was our only chance to stay in the race to go to the next round. We lost by a lot of points in France, but managed to bounce back against Cibona. It was also my best Eurocup game so far this season. I was sick for a week right before the start of the competition and was kind of out of my own self! It took me a little while to be get my own rhythm back. I had a pretty good game, but not just me - we all played very well as a team. Honestly, we are very happy with this win, even though we need much more to advance, of course.

Ramel Curry played really well against Cibona. He had been slowed by a small injury that kind of put him out of his rhythm here and there. That makes it harder for anyone to be consistent. When he is healthy, Ramel is one of the best players in the league - and he showed it against Cibona, no question about it. He had a great game, played for everybody, got himself open shots, made them and led the team to a very good win.

The trip to Gravelines was difficult. It is hard to get from Donetsk to Gravelines, believe me. We had to fly from Kiev, then we flew to Brussels and then took a never-ending bus ride to Gravelines. We were like 9 or 10 hours on the bus and it was very hard for us. I don't want to look for excuses for a bad game, but if I had to give one, that could be it. It is very difficult to play after basically travelling around the day before the game and... more

What's up, Eurocup fans! I am Ivan Radenovic of BC Donetsk in Ukraine, back to the competition for the first time in three years! I assume I am not that famous in European basketball, so the safe thing is to introduce myself. My career had some ups and downs until now. I have been moving around too much: I started in Spain, moved to Greece and then to Russia. I went back to Spain before coming to Donetsk. I haven't really stuck around for a while anywhere enough for people to remember me. Still, I had some good moments in the Eurocup; I made it to the title game with Akasvayu Girona of Spain in 2008 and was the top-rated player the following regular season with Panellinios of Greece. The success we had as a team in Girona was just unbelievable. Going to the final and getting my first opportunity to win a European title is something I won’t forget. Still, I think that the best part of my career is yet to arrive and it will be exciting to discover!

I chose to play for Donetsk due to a mix of things. Our coach Sasa Obradovic, the team we were building and the financial aspect all had an impact on my decision. Having the chance to reach the Euroleague, which we were unable to do in the qualifying rounds, was important, too. But at least we will play the Eurocup. It is great to be back in the Eurocup! I feel very confident and think that this team has the opportunity to go deep in the competition. We have talent and experience, so if things work right for us, we can be very successful this season and challenge for very good goals! Having Coach Obradovic and Vule Avdalovic around helps a lot. Not only they are Serbian, as I... more