February 10, 2012
Quarterfinal analyst: Tomislav Ruzic, Zadar
Tomislav Ruzic - ZadarFew people at the beginning of the season would have believed that Zadar would make it to the Final Eight, but the Croatian powerhouse has proved almost everyone wrong and now has the chance to win its first European club title. Zadar faces iurbentia Bilbao Basket in the quarterfinals, a team with as many as three Croatian players. One of Zadar's most veteran players, versatile forward Tomislav Ruzic, is the perfect choice to analyze Bilbao Basket. Ruzic has averaged 5.6 points and 3 rebounds in 12 Eurocup games and is ready to play a key role off the bench as a veteran who has seen everything - including some of Bilbao's best players.

In what sort of shape and condition does Zadar arrive to the Final Eight?

"First of all, we lost the chances to make it to the Adriatic League final four this season, so we are not very happy about it. For that reason, the team is a little bit down right now, but we are going to work hard in the upcoming two weeks. I am sure we will be in a much better condition when we get to the Final Eight. We did a good job by reaching the Final Eight but we have a lot of work to do to improve and succeed there."

How has the team improved since coach Zmago Sagadin arrived in Zadar?

"Our new coach helped us to play better defense. We were an offensive-minded team. We have been playing better team defense so we turned our game all the way around, basically. We are still getting used to the new coach's ideas, but our team defense improved a lot already. We still have room for improvement and this is what we will try to do in the next weeks."

Bilbao Basket has some players that may be familiar to you. Which are their key players and what problems to they present?

"Actually, the players I know most about are the three Croatians: Marko Banic, Drago Pasalic and Damir Markota. They are the only players I know really well. I heard they have a good coach, good Spanish players and of course, I heard about Quincy Lewis, a great shooter. Personally, I haven't seen any Bilbao game this season, so when I watch some videos I will know much more about them."

What does Zadar has to do to overcome Bilbao? What will be the keys to the game for your team?

"First of all, we have to stop Banic. He is a very good player and we all know it will be very tough to play against him. Every player must do his best to help the team win the game. I expect a very hard game for both teams. It is very hard for me to say which will be the key to the game because like I said, I haven't seen Bilbao this season. I know that Bilbao is playing well but from our point of view, we have to improve our defense and be more efficient on court. That is what we will focus on before the game against Bilbao."
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Euroleague.net
PrintPrint SendSend ShareShare

Submenu