The Czech big man offers his thoughts ahead of the final stretch of the 2023-24 EuroCup season.
Ondrej Balvin, Prometey: 'We have all the cards in our hands'
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9 Mins read
This is it, the regular season will finish soon and we are still trying to qualify for the playoffs. We have three games left and if we beat Reyer in Venice, we will surely qualify, but, of course, we will try to win every game. Actually, if we win and Reyer loses this week, we will punch our playoff ticket. Right now, it's either us or Reyer for the playoffs. We have all the cards in our hands, I believe, and if we do everything we should do, or at least play the way we've been playing lately, I believe we don't have to just wait for the result of that game against Reyer. Hopefully, we will solve this issue next week.
Right now, it's either us or Reyer for the playoffs."
It feels like in the last month, we finally came together as a team. Until now, we had some problems. For example, I traveled to Paris and was sick with a high fever, so I couldn't play. Rob Gray has a small hand injury, so as you see, there are small things that always somehow affect us. If all these things did not happen, I believe we would be in much better shape than we are, but right now we are on the right track to qualify for the playoffs.
We had a solid game against Wolves Vilnius. A lot of coaches love to say that offense wins games, but defense wins championships, so everything should start with defense, especially in the late part of the season, which is right now. For us, defense is always the game changer because the team has good chemistry and a lot of talent on offense. If we can use that chemistry on the court, it is a completely different world.
As I mentioned before, I traveled to Paris and got sick. How unlucky is that? We practiced on Monday afternoon and when I came home, I started feeling a little bit sick, so I went to sleep early because when we go on road trips, we usually take early flights. So we had a meeting at 5 a.m. in the gym and I went there feeling already a little bit sick, but the team decided that, since I didn't have a fever, I could travel. And when we arrived in Paris, it was a complete disaster for me. I went down with a fever of almost 39 degrees, so I was in bed in the hotel the whole time. Luckily, our medical staff took great care of me and I was at least able to travel back, because after the game I was still in bed with 38 degrees. I felt like I was not going to be able to travel but they did a great job. We were next to the Bercy area, not far from the city center and I believe Paris in winter must be great. I cannot say because I have never seen it, even if I was there! Paris in winter must be really beautiful and charming. Maybe next time I will be lucky!
Paris in winter must be really beautiful and charming. Maybe next time I will be lucky!"
Tai Odiase played really well in that game and is doing a great job in general. The funniest thing about him is that we have similar hobbies. He is a little bit nerdy and loves gaming. That surprised me because American guys usually like to chill or hang out more together, but not Tai. I think he is the most low-key foreigner I have ever played with. He spends most of his time with his wife and they are expecting a kid. Most of the time he is on the road, he is playing video games, just like me! I love this about him. Right now, I am playing Call of Duty: Warzone and checking a game called Satisfactory. It is about managing a company from the beginning to the end, so that's kind of fun for me. Tai likes to play a lot of emulators on a game console called Steam Deck. He also loves to play a lot of Nintendo, Mario and all that stuff. We always talk about the games on the road when we are on the bus because we sit across from each other.
Most of the guys, especially us foreigners on the team, don't know much about the city, so what most of us do is play video games and hang out with our friends, at least online. The player I know who is best at gaming is Simon Birgander. He is in Murcia and is currently injured. I can say that I never played with him, I only played against him, and he is crazy good at Call of Duty. I've never seen anybody play like him. He is a crazy video gamer. The funniest thing is that he looks like a really nice guy but when it comes to video games, he kills everybody!
Back to basketball. Like last season, the Latvian-Estonian League, in which we play as a guest, finishes its regular season at the end of March and there is a Final Four at the beginning of April. That means we will have a good schedule in the league because we have a lot of games there during the February break in the EuroCup. If we make it to the playoffs, our schedule will be easier in March. Right now, we are doing well in this league and it is easier for us to be more focused on the EuroCup than in the domestic competition.
Last but not least, shoutout to all the Ukrainian fans who come to see us at home and on the road and to the Latvian fans coming to our games. Everywhere we go, home or away, wherever we play, we always see some Ukrainian flags. We truly appreciate all the support we get everywhere, home and away. We enjoy it and hopefully, we will make you proud of us!