Nesterovic: "Siena Is Very Strong, It Will Be Hard"

SIENA – Euroleague is on the horizon. That goes for Siena as well as for Athens. Words of encouragement from Olimpiakos’ latest version come from center, Nasho Nestorevic. He knows about the European basketball scene (he’s Slovenian of Serbian origin and has a Greek passport). On top of that, he was elected man of the month of the continental tournament  (mvp Sportingbet) and there’s a reason for that. In a recent interview on Euroleague’s site, Nesterovic talked in length and in depth about himself and the reds’ season, with a look at how it started and the upcoming series against Montepaschi in the quarterfinals. He explained, “Experience tells me that the best thing to do is to start off the fame with defense. I don’t worry too much about scoring and offense. I think more about helping my team and letting the game slowly turn in our favour, with no rush. Focusing on defense, rebounds and steals is key.” A message to his teammates. "The award is an honour, but this is a team sport,” he added. “If you win, it’s because your teammates put you in the condition to do your best. I want to thank my teammates because, without them, none of this would have been possible.” During the interview, Athens’ pivot praised Spanoulis, Papaloukas and Teodosic’s skills. Then, looking toward the future, the discussion turns towards their opponents, Montepaschi Siena. "It’s a tough team, surely a difficult opponent. They’ve proven so far that they play great basketball, that they’re an excellent team. You know, these are the playoffs and the eight best teams in Euroleague are facing off, and the only thing we can’t do is underestimate our opponents and expect an easy match. We’re confident and anxious to put ourselves to the test against a worthy opponent, and I think the same goes for them. The only thing we can do is do our best and take things one game at a time, without looking beyond that.”