News
Interviews
Tomislav Zubcic, London Lions: 'If we keep building, we can do something special'

Tomislav Zubcic, London Lions: 'If we keep building, we can do something special'

Interviews

25 October 20226 Mins read

Tomislav Zubcic, London Lions: 'If we keep building, we can do something special'

The London Lions made history in Round 2 of the 7DAYS EuroCup by becoming the first team from Great Britain to record a win in the competition in 18 years when it defeated Dolomiti Energia Trento at Copper Box Arena. One of London's star players so far this season has been Tomislav Zubcic, 32, who is averaging a team-high 17.0 points per game. During an interview with EuroCupBasketball.com, Zubcic gave an insight into London's project, as well as his own goals and his prediction for the future of British basketball.

You have had a fine start to life with the London Lions, as you are the team's highest scorer so far in the EuroCup, averaging 17.0 points per game. How easy has it been to fit in with your new teammates?

"Ryan [Schmidt] and Brett [Burman], the head coach and the GM, did an amazing job scouting the players for this team. We have a brand-new team and they did an amazing job of signing great individuals, especially in terms of character, and great players, so by combining these two things, we managed to get a great team, like you can see on the court and off the court. We're looking forward to these EuroCup games and the whole season; I think if we keep building like we have done so far, we have great potential to do something amazing."

Round 1 of the EuroCup did not go to plan for London on the road against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Were there any major lessons that you learned as a team from this defeat?

"We definitely had to learn a lot from this game, but we all know that we lost Sam Dekker [just 4:37 minutes into the game due to injury], who was a big part of our team and a starter. We missed him a lot, but we're looking forward to him recovering and playing again with us. We were definitely surprised by the way that they played, but like I said, if we keep building, we have a great chance to do something that people don't expect from us."

"We have a great team on the court and off the court. If we keep building and we're all helping, we can do great things."

London was without Sam Dekker and Kosta Koufos against Trento in Round 2, yet the rest of the team stepped up and recorded the club's first-ever win in the EuroCup. How did that feel?

"Being down by two guys, especially very important guys, we had to step up, in particular me, Ovie [Soko] and Vojtech [Hruban]. We knew what we had to do together on the court and we just stuck together for 40 minutes and, at the end of the day, we came out with the win."

We are still very early in the season, having had just two rounds of fixtures in the competition, but how far do you think London can go in this year's EuroCup?

"Nobody can predict that, but like I said, we have a great team on the court and off the court. If we keep building and we're all helping, we can do great things. It's going to take time, because this is a new team; there are people who have never played together, and it is going to take time to build something amazing, which we are capable of."

As one of the most experienced players on the roster, with 42 EuroCup games and 39 EuroLeague fixtures to your name prior to this season, how have you been helping your teammates get acclimatized to the EuroCup?

"With my age and my experience, I'm basically one of the oldest guys, so I try to help these young kids and to share my knowledge about what I've been doing over the last 17 years. It's amazing to be a part of what we are building here, especially bringing something new to British basketball and trying to put the London Lions on the map of European basketball."

Your best season in the EuroCup came when you were with Cedevita Zagreb in 2013-14, as you scored totals of 122 points, 66 rebounds and 20 assists, while you also played 388:07 minutes across 16 games. Do you think you can beat any of those figures in the current EuroCup campaign?

"If I keep playing like how I started this season, I'm definitely going to be on the edge of reaching those goals. For me, I am trying to improve myself every single day and be better as a player and as a person. I am looking forward to beating these records, but we will see. It's a long season and we have a lot of games, but for me it is [all about] team first and just trying to build something here with the London Lions."

Your career has seen you play eight countries, and now you have added a ninth to the list with England. What was it that made you decide that you wanted to try a basketball experience in Britain?

"When I started talking with the London Lions's GM and the coach, they presented me with a great opportunity, and I wanted to be part of history. What we did in the last game against Trento, for example, we ended up being the first team from Great Britain to get a win [in the EuroCup] after 18 years. For me, this is something amazing that is going to be in the books, so being a part of this team, being a part of this process is something that is really fulfilling."

The London Lions are playing an important role in helping grow British basketball. Where do you see British basketball in five years?

"With what we are trying to do by putting British basketball on the map in Europe, I think we can achieve that by putting British basketball on another level, on a higher level, especially with the league, the organization and the players that are coming here, because living and playing here is an amazing opportunity for everybody."