 The first-week MVP of the Eurocup season has been around long enough and has travelled far enough to know a big victory when he sees one - even in the season opener. Last week, Sandro Nicevic paced Benetton Basket Tamoil to a comeback road win over his old team, Besiktas Cola Turka, to kick off the six-game Eurocup regular season. While putting up an MVP performance, Nicevic used the experience of his ULEB Cup Final Eight run with Besiktas last season and the insights of his Turkish coach, Oktay Mahmuti, at Benetton. He no doubt benefitted, too, from a his unique perspective as a European globetrotter who has played in five countries, none of them his native Croatia, over the last five seasons: with AEK in Greece, Unicaja in Spain, Le Mans in France, Besiktas in Turkey and now Benetton in Italy. "I like new challenges," Nicevic told Eurocupbasketball.com. "When I chose all those places, I really didn't think in terms of the countries, but whether they were in the Euroleague, or the last two years, the ULEB Cup and Eurocup. The countries weren't on my mind. I think of Europe as an open space. I don't see borders."
Your new team beat your old team, Besiktas, on the road in a comeback to start the Eurocup season. How big a win was that and how did you do it?
"It was, for sure, a big victory. It was important as the first game in the Eurocup, but also because we have a new team and we have been trying to get things right. It was a tough start for us in Italy, so to get this win on the road at Besiktas was significant to improve our future. We knew Besiktas as a strong team with many good players, but we knew there was only one way to victory, by being aggressive and keeping the rhythm high the whole game. We knew that playing that way, especially on defense, Besiktas wouldn't be able to last the whole game."
Do you always play so well against your former teams?
"Not especially, no. I do like that gym, though. I was used to it for all last year, and I felt good and comfortable in that place. I had some good memories from last year, which made me excited and happy to be back there."
You also played 35 minutes. Did you expect your coach, Oktay Mahmuti, to give you such a big role with Benetton or was it the circumstances of that game?
"I think it was just important for that game. because we generally split our minutes, 20 to 25 almost everybody. This was a special game, and for sure Oktay knew Besiktas well, knew their coach, and told us what to expect. But he helped us prepare to play there especially in terms of our mentality. He explained to us well that, even though it was the first one, this could be the key game of the Eurocup season. It was that important."
Benetton has a reputation over the years as one of basketball's most progressive clubs. Did that reputation influence your decision to sign there?
"For sure, I knew where I was coming because of the big history of Benetton over the last 20 years or so as an important club in Europe, a great organization. I knew they work well here. Even if the last few years they had problems, I knew they wanted to get back to the same way they were before. Everything was positive in my contacts with the team and it made my mind clear in coming to Benetton."
 You have played in France, Greece, Spain, Turkey and now Italy in the last five seasons. Did you try to play in a lot of different places and or did the contract offers move you around so much?
"I like new challenges, of course, and there is always the influence of where is the best offer. But in all five years, I had pretty good experiences, pretty good seasons with good clubs and good results. And that's what I was looking for most when I chose all those places. I really didn't think in terms of the countries, but whether they were in the Euroleague, or the last two years, the ULEB Cup and Eurocup. The countries weren't on my mind. I think of Europe as an open space. I don't see borders."
But, has basketball helped you to get to know other cultures all around the continent?
"Of course, and it's a very big privilege for me to go around and meet new cultures, learn things about people all over Europe. That is one of the big positive sides of traveling and living in so many places, learning and understanding the mentality, let's say, of the people in those places. I am very happy for that experience as well as the basketball experience."
You are a veteran in age and experience. When you change teams so often, can you still apply that experience with, for instance, young players?
"Sure, I try to help my teammates. Each year it gets much easier to integrate myself into a new team. I have no problems to adjust. The players kind of respect me because of my age and experience and years in basketball. I try to help them to make the right choices and not to complicate their basketball with unimportant stuff. I try to help them do things the right way because it's also positive for the team, not only for them personally."
Are you getting better as you get older?
"I think so, yes. For sure, I know more. As you get older, you can read more clearly some situations. You are not as nervous as you were when you were young. Unimportant stuff doesn't bother you, so you focus better on important things to do. You use your strengths more efficiently. Also during games, you know how to save your energy better. Things that disturb you or take your energy away in a game, you avoid them. Even though I am 32 now, I feel like I can play those 35 minutes like against Besiktas without any problem."
What does the possibility of winning a European trophy like the Eurocup mean to you at this point in your career?
"For sure, it would be a big thing for me. With this team in the Eurocup this year, it's a very important competition. It would be great for me to win this trophy and for sure we will try to do our best. I think we need some time to get our skills to a little higher level and play together a little more. But maybe we can arrive. For the moment, we are playing well and playing a good style of basketball that might be a little stranger, perhaps, for Italy, but in Europe it can help us play an important role, I think."
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