Before his team faces Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar Tuesday in a win-or-go-home situation for a spot in the Top 16, Tofas Bursa sharpshooter Sammy Mejia is the right man to hear from about the game and his team's season.
Sammy Mejia, Tofas: 'We can take that next step'
Interviews
11 Mins read
For the third season in a row, Tofas Bursa heads into its 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season finale in a win-or-go-home situation. After coming up short in each of the past two seasons, the team hopes this week's game against Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar will turn Tofas's fortunes. Veteran sharpshooter Sammy Mejia has been there for it all and will be a reference for his teammates in this season-defining contest. Now 36 years old, Mejia is in his seventh EuroCup campaign and has moved into the top 10 on the competition's career scoring charts with 1,142 points. He needs 5 more points to capture seventh place! However, for now the focus is on taking Tofas to new heights in the EuroCup. "Each year we've accomplished something different for the club and I feel like we've taken a step further in the right direction as an organization," Mejia said. "We have another opportunity to take another step forward, something that we’ve struggled to do the last couple of years. Hopefully, on Tuesday we can turn that page."
How has the season been so far for your team?
"We have a bunch of new players this year and that's always a challenge for a team. I think for the last couple of years we've pretty much had to organize new teams each season. It's always tough because the beginning of the season is always the most difficult part of the year and it's tough to get everybody comfortable with what we're doing as a team and to get results. This year's preparation was shorter than in the past, we didn't have too much time, but I think with where we are right now with the players that we have and the time that we've had for preparation, I think we're still in a pretty good position. We obviously had a couple of mistakes until now that we wish we could take back, but at the end of the day we have a deciding game on our home court on Tuesday. We need to go in confident that we can pull that through. And in the Turkish League, we're still in the top part of the league so overall it's been up and down, but I'm still pretty satisfied with where we are right now is a team."
As you said, you're in a do-or-die situation in the EuroCup for the third consecutive season. Is the third time the charm to finally make it to the Top 16?
"Yeah, that's the plan. One thing that is good about the past is that we know what it feels like to lose those types of games, so as an organization and some of the players that have been here in the past, we're going to try and use that as motivation and try not to have that same feeling after this upcoming game against Lokomotiv. We have that taste in our mouth of what it feels like to lose and be eliminated when we had a big opportunity, so we're going to try and use that to motivate us going into that game."
"We have that taste in our mouth of what it feels like to lose and be eliminated when we had a big opportunity."
From your experience, not just the past two years but many do-or-die games you played in the past, what is the key to winning these kinds of games?
"I think the biggest thing in these kinds of games is confidence and being aggressive. I think those are the two most important things. Obviously, both teams are going to be prepared, both teams are going to have a strategy. You're going to know what you want to do as a team, how you want to try to stop the other team. All those X's and O's, the details, we're going to go over them and I'm sure they're going to go over the same. But at the end of the game, When you get on the court it's about which team is going to be the most aggressive, play with the most passion and confidence and not let the moment and the magnitude of that game affect you mentally. Luckily for us, it's on our home court. We should use that to our advantage and hopefully we’ll have a good showing from the fans and a lot of support there. When you play confident and you play aggressive and you play as a team, I can live with those results.”
Does the fact that this is a do-or-die game for Lokomotiv make this game tougher for you?
"For sure. I'm pretty sure the beginning of the game is going to be sloppy, aggressive, both teams trying to set the tone. I'm ready for a hard-fought, physical, aggressive game, maybe a low-scoring kind of game at the beginning while teams try to figure out the opponents. We're excited for that battle and we have a lot of respect for them. They beat us here last year, so I'm sure they're thinking about it just as much as we are. Hopefully, we'll get a different result this year than we did last year.”
You already beat Lokomotiv earlier this season in Russia. Even though both teams have changed a lot over the last five or six weeks, what can you take from that game to help you this time?
"That's the thing about basketball. In basketball, you can never really plan things out. You have to just ride out the wave and go wherever the ship sails and be ready for wherever the ship lands. Right now the ship landed in the position where we have a do-or-die game in front of our home fans against a team that we respect and an organization that has had a lot of success in this league. We're going to embrace that challenge and embrace that opportunity and put our best foot forward and try to get it done."
You are playing a very strong season at age 36. Not a lot of players can play at this level at your age. What's your secret?
"I think it's a combination of a lot of things. I really take care of my body. I eat well, I sleep well. Plus I've been in this organization for a while, so I’m comfortable with what we do here. I know what to expect from this club. I've been part of this team for so long. I know what the coach is about, I know his approach and I know the league. I’ve played in the EuroCup for many years. I always try to push myself to adapt to the league, to the opponent, and I feel my experience and all the years that I've played in this competition helps me. Every year the league changes, it changes a lot. Teams get faster, get more athletic, teams get bigger. Basketball has changed a lot over the last 10 years. I just try to keep up with the young guys, for lack of a better way to put it, and try to see where basketball is going from year to year and try to adjust myself and my game to be effective the way the game is played today."
This is your fifth season with the club. What is it about the club and the city that has led you to stay here for so long?
"First, a lot of it has to do with my relationship with the coach. I played for him at Banvit and we built a pretty good relationship. I came here to play for him five years ago and we've done some pretty good things with this club. Each year we've accomplished something different for the club and I feel like we've taken a step further in the right direction as an organization. I'm proud to be a part of that and it's something that motivates me going forward. In the time that I've been here, we've been able to come up from the second division and been able to propel the team forward. Right now, we're one of the better teams in Turkey - or we have been, I don't want to make any predictions. Up until now, we've had success in the Turkish League and we’ve put ourselves in a position to compete in the EuroCup. And we have another opportunity to take another step forward, something that we’ve struggled to do the last couple of years. Hopefully, on Tuesday we can turn that page."
How important is the crowd in the game like this?
"I think the EuroCup is the strongest league maybe in all of Europe, in my opinion when it comes to home-court advantage. Obviously, in the EuroLeague, some of those teams are phenomenal teams. They have the ability, they have the players and the staff, the coaches and the organizational experience to go win in any building. But when it comes to the EuroCup, we're not that far apart from a lot of the other teams. So when you go to these gyms to play them, definitely I believe the atmosphere and the crowd presence plays a big role in the EuroCup. I don't know the statistics, but I’m sure the percentages of the teams that win at home in the EuroCup are a lot better than people might expect. We hope that can be the case for us. Obviously, we've struggled on the road, like every other team struggles on the road, and to have a deciding game on our home court is huge. We're appealing to our crowd, we're appealing to our fans, asking for their support to be with us when we try to fight to take this club to the next step."
"It's good to have that kind of pressure on you because it keeps you sharp, it keeps you strong."
Can you single out anything specific that you need to do in order to defeat Lokomotiv?
"I just think that against a team like that, you can't get too high and you can't get too low. A kind of team with the experience and the success they've had in the EuroCup, we have to expect them to have some moments in the game where they're going to be clicking on all cylinders and things will be going well for them. We have to stay mentally strong. Against those teams, you're not going to win the first quarter by 5, the second by 10, and win the game by 20. They're not going to let you do it. You’re going to have ups, you're going to have downs. You're going to have moments where you play together. You're going to have moments where they take control of the game and try to combat what we're doing. Most important for us is staying calm, weathering the storm, and having that confidence and that aggression to play through, whatever the circumstances are and giving ourselves a chance to win at the end of the game. That's when we feel that by being at home and having the support of our crowd, we can take that next step and get a very important and needed win for our club."
What would it mean - after being so close for two years - to Tofas and the city Bursa to reach the Top 16 and keep fighting in the EuroCup?
"It would be huge! That's been maybe our biggest target for the season, focusing on trying to get to the next level in the EuroCup. I don't know if it's bad luck, but for the last couple of years, we've been in probably the toughest EuroCup group. Like I said before, there are a lot of things in basketball that you can't control, you have to ride it out and see where things take you. We're in a situation where we’re in a very tough group with a lot of competitive teams. We don't complain about that; we actually enjoy it. It doesn't allow us to be soft or to get weak. And when you do, you end up losing the way we did at Rytas. It's good to have that kind of pressure on you because it keeps you sharp, it keeps you strong. And in those moments where you do kind of disconnect, you pay for it immediately. So we are hoping to learn from all of our experiences, learn the last game and try not to have that same feeling at the end of the game against Kuban because it's important for us, it's important to this club and it's our biggest goal for the first part of this season. So hopefully we can push forward and get this job done."