Basketball Forever

A few days ago less than 400 km away from us is happenning something for which whole Europe, and may be the whole world can dream about. In a country, where some idiots were impudent enough to bomd a peaceful population, in the capital of a european country in 20th century. The same country built one of the most beautiful basketball halls in Europe, a pretty building for 22 000 people and even more. Something that cannot happen in our own country in the next perhaps 30-40 years, or even more.

But even that building wasn't big enough to gather all the people who had the desire to watch the Euroleague quarterfinal playoffs between Partizan and Maccabi after it turned out those who wanted to be in the gym were more than 35 000. Not for one game, but for two straight in two days Beogradska Arena turned out to be small. The fans of Partizan managed to create a great atmosphere that the whole world could be jealous of. Choreography, organization, more than 20 000 people were cheering their team, supporting it all the time and at the end celebrated with the players. A few Bulgarians were also present there to cheer for Pini Gershon but those fans didn't deserve to lose. Those people had to leave the gym with smiles on their faces after twice for more than two hours didn't stop singing.

It was interesting to see the legend Vlade Divac waving and jumping after the referees from the first row on the field, enjoyng like a child the baskets by his compatriots like 18-19 years old talents. Djekic was born in 1991 but he also was on the field for a few minutes, and not at the end.

I find it difficult to immagine in the future that we can come even close to their level - of organization, of atmosphere, of gyms, attitude towards the game, a lot of other details, big and small. A comparison can't be made, we're talking about two different politics regarding the game itself. The one - naturally gifted, the other forcing the things. Well, even during our evening walk in "Kalemegdan" fortress it didn't went without dribbling and playing of the kids. It was aproaching late evening when we saw the girls of the youth system of Red Star just starting to practice under the light on the one of the basketball courts built inside ..... the fortress itself. You turn your head to Danube river and you see a big ship and near him ... a basketball court. A I can no longer wonder about the inscription in front of the Arena a day later - BASKETBALL FOREVER. And you ask yourself a very sad question which unfortunately cannot be answered - Why my child wasn't born 400 km west?

A few days ago I red one analysis of one of Bulgarian top specialists regarding the Cup Finals in Yambol. A very nice words, all is wonderful and great. It's like we have reached some kind of european level but the cruel reality is that we are deep in to the bottom and are not even aproaching the middle. If you give "10" at the All Star Game or the games from the Cup Finals, this means that a presence in Belgrade in a games like this will bring you back to earth. It's always good to think that we have some kind of level but we are fooling only ourselves and not anyone else. But in fact this person may be right, for now this is what we can and this is what we are doing. It's sad that we don't set a high goals in order to chase higher results. You need to put down the pink glasses and help the kids in the clubs, from there we have to start. Most of them are training in miserable conditions, unfortunately ...

We heard a lot about how our championship was very strong this year. The truth is that it is very close and challenging but ... strong - please. A usual championship, the teams are more evenly balanced, Lukoil Academic went down due to a bad selection process and bad work in lots of aspects. Levski is up thanks mainly to Titi Papazov and the investments made by the new sponsor of the team. The rest of the teams are even between themselves but have a lot of foreigners with questionable qualities for whom the top in their career is that they have been playing in Bulgaria, but at below average european level.
 
Don't fool youselves people, we are a long way away from the real thing. I have experience from all the european countries, and even NBA Finals. This that happened in Belgrade exceeded my expectations and now I'm convinced - we cannot reach the Serbians soon. Because the basketball there is a religion, and here is not and will not be. The federation needs renovation and to start working in a different direction, like we say "from zero" and turn all their attention to the youngsters. With all my respect for Georgi Glushkov, all that he made as a player, even playing in the NBA and appearing in commercials in the American televisions. Just like in football where e brilliant player at his time like Hristo Stoichkov is now trying on the other side. There is no guarantee that if you were a good player then you will be a good coach or director, like in our basketball federation. Or just like Stoichkov says - "Sometimes lose, sometimes win". Unfortunately "win" stays west from Bulgaria, just like it always has been.

This person in the basketball doesn't have the potential for big things as a director, at this position a person needs to be good in other directions. For first time I understand that director in a federation can use abusive words and can call a female coach "cretin". Sorry, but it was even hard for me to write it. Don't we have an ethic commission in the federation, where is it right now. There was a campaign against Titi, there are even people on salary in order to restrict his media presence. Can this happen in Serbia? I apologize for this stupid question if people from our western neighbours are reading this. Let the man work. He proved that is Number 1 in Bulgaria and the little good things in our basketball are thanks to him. Every person has some negative signs, there are not people who don't make mistakes, but why we don't unite and work together, like the Serbians do. Remove Titi from our basketball and we may fell even under Albania (with all the respect). But in the way everything is going on even he won't be able to help with his devotion. The federation is punishing Stanislava Stankova not to play until the end of the season and then we'll want from her to be a main part from the national team. Well, I personally cannot immagine how Stankova with her size at 160 cm will scare a referee almost 200 cm tall and be banned for 3 games. Whatever happenned this is one of the most basketball families in Bulgaria and we don't have the right to treat them like this.

Well, are Stankovi family and Papazov are the biggest problems of Bulgarian basketball at the moment. Instead of focusing and points everything that we have to "position 0". For that purpose we need the right people and patience. For now the president of the federation Mihov is showing only desire but has not found the best "performers". It will take us time to find them but instead we'll stick to the same place with years and unfortunately we'll be more "lose" than "win". And we'll travel 400 km west or south to feel emotion from the magic called basketball. And dream one day that we'll step in front of a inscription before a Bulgarian gym with words "Basketball forever" outside.