Semifinals

SKS! SKS! SKS! That was all you could hear at the end of the game in Koszalin. The small crowd of supporters who made the trip and watched both games were the only ones in the gym after the buzzer sounded. It is hard to describe the feeling of being apart of something like this. Those of you who are athletes have probably tasted this feeling before so you can relate to how I'm feeling. It is the best this club has ever finished. As much as I would've loved to be on the court playing, my new role on the team is from the bench and even though I watched from there I could still feel the flow of the game. Friends and family back home who I haven't gotten the chance to speak with, 4 days before the quarterfinals began I dislocated my right wrist going up for a rebound in practice. Which explains the cast I have been sporting the last week.

We came out with a lot of energy in both games and if you were there it was easily visible. In games like this, where you've played a team twice already in the regular season, watched a number of hours of game film, went through all their plays in practice, there is only so much preparation you can go through before you start beating a dead drum. In games like this it comes down to who wants it more. I want to commend my teammates for their effort, everyone of them deserves credit for these wins. Everyone made a contribution in some way shape or form. A job well done fellas.

Up next Anwil: they finished the regular season in 2nd place, we split with them 1-1 during league, they beat Polonia Azbud to move onto the semifinals and according Eurobasket.com Top 100 they are ranked 67th (We're ranked 92nd). The games will be televised on TVP Sport May 8,10,13,15,18th at 6pm that's 9am PST (Go to plk.pl/ and click on the link. I'm sure it will be on our team website too sportowa.com.pl/) It's going to be a tough series and as I mentioned earlier, numbers aside and scouting preparation disregarded. It's going to come down to who wants it more.

I hope to see you all at the games at home and those of you who make the trip to Anwil I wish you safe travels and you'll have a high five waiting for you when you get there. I'll leave you with one last notion; my dad used to write me letters during situations like this in college before games in our conference tournament and he would always end those letters with "GOTTA BELIEVE!"

Until next time................................................................................................... Love

"Enjoy the Journey"

Love

Bud

P.S. Don't be surprised if my cast is off next week................ haha

Playoffs...

Playoffs are here and our preparation for our first game has long already passed. It feels like we have been preparing for our opponent for some time now and an unexpected event added to our wait. Before I explain, I would like to send out my thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of those lost in the tragic plane crash this past weekend. The President of Poland was killed in a plane crash Saturday morning on his way to Russia to commemorate the lives lost in the Katyn Massacre that occurred 70 years ago. As a result of this tragedy the playoffs were moved back a week to give time for the country to mourn their loss.

Here is a look at the schedule for the playoffs. Because we finished the regular season in 3rd place with an 18-8 overall record we skip the pre-playoffs and go straight to the Quarterfinals.

Changes in the schedule were caused for national mourning after the crash in Smolensk as I mentioned above and the need to end the season before the World Cup in South Africa.

Qualifying play-off (pre-playoffs), to two wins on Monday 19 April, Wednesday 21 April, Friday 23 April (or Saturday April 24).

Quarter-final play-off to three wins on Tuesday 27 April, Wednesday 28 April, Saturday May 1, Sunday May 2, Wednesday 5 May.

Semi-final play-off, the three winners:

couple I - Saturday 8 May, Monday 10 May, Thursday 13 May, Saturday 15 May, Tuesday 18 May;

couple II - Sunday 9 May, Tuesday 11 May, Friday 14 May, Sunday 16 May, Wednesday 19 May.

Final play-off for four wins on Saturday 22 May, Monday 24 May, Thursday 27 May, Saturday 29 May, Tuesday, June 1, Friday June 4, Monday 7 June.

The third place, two wins on Saturday 22 May, Tuesday 25 May, Friday 28 May.

PLK SA Board agreed to the elimination matches played on two playoff AZS Koszalin - Stal Stalowa Wola in Koszalin, within 19 and 20 April.

The BOLD is our first round series. It's win or go home now and I am not quite ready to go home. I hope to see you all at the games helping us reach the next round. Thanks again for your support all season. I have only one favor to ask you and that is to be louder than you have all year and I promise we will return the favor with even more effort than we've given all season. Enjoy the weather I think spring is finally here. Until next time............................................ Love

P.S. The picture above is at the Chicago Bulls practice facility. It's the 6 championship trophies they won during the Michael Jordan era. I went there last summer as I do every summer to visit some close friends from college. I hope by the end of this season we will have something to put up in the Hall of Starogard....

"Enjoy the Journey"

Love
Bud

Highlights

Here are some highlights from last game...

http://sportowa.com.pl/fanclub/wideo?view=play&id=8

"Enjoy the Journey"
Love
Bud

18 - 7

As I've mentioned in past blogs it is always difficult for me to write you after a loss. Losing by one point is always a tough to stomach. Trefl played a great game and I have to tip my hat off to them. Thank you to the fans once again for your support. You guys have stuck by us all season and I know you guys will make it tough for our first opponent in playoffs. We have one more regular season game remaining and it's an away game against Poznan. I'm hoping we can get a win there so we can prepare for the playoffs coming off a win.

Following the game Lele and I went out to eat at our favorite restaurant in Starogard "La Cantina". Afterwards we stopped by Cafe Aruba for dessert, Piotr made homemade crepes for Lele before she went home. They were exquisite! I am so grateful to everyone for showing her such great hospitality and making her feel very welcome. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making her stay in Poland a fun and memorable one. As hard as it was to see her leave the next morning, I know I will see her again soon but hopefully not too soon because I wish for us much success in the playoffs. Until next time.......................................................... Love

"Enjoy the Journey"
Love
Bud

3rd Place....

With an 18-6 overall record, we secured the regular season 3rd place spot with a victory over Stal Wola on Wednesday night. Not our best performance and I don't want to take anything away from Stal but we will take a win. Stal ran a version of the "Flex" offense, which means a lot of cutting and screening in a continuous manor. Both offensively and defensively we had our ups and downs, fortunately for us we were able to overcome those downs and pull out a W.

Thanks to the fans for your support. It's always great playing a team with that kind of advantage. I hope to see you all on March 27th against Trefl Sopot.

In conclusion, March Madness has began and I am rooting for 2 teams in particular, St. Mary's & Gonzaga. Both teams our in my Conference and with my team being eliminated in the Conference tourney I feel an obligation to root for these guys. St. Mary's already upset Richmond to move on to the next round and Gonzaga plays today. Good luck to the both of you.

Until next time................................................................................... Love

"Enjoy the Journey"
Love
Bud

17 - 6

My coach at Santa Clara University (Kerry Keating) used to always say our road trips were business trips and our trip to Warsaw was just that. We have a chance to finish in 3rd place in the PLK. We're taking one game at a time, treating every game like we have all year, trying to finish strong and gain some momentum going into playoffs. This game we came out with a lot of energy straight from the get go. Our defense turned into offense early because we were able to get stops and turn those into transition buckets. Polonia 2011 is a young talented team and have improved a lot since our first meeting. It took a great effort to win this game.

I'd like to thank the fans who made the trip to Warsaw. Once again you never seem to surprise me. You guys are great, loyal and extremely supportive. So great, I had to share this story because tonight at "La Cantina" (My favorite restaurant) Lele told me about when she walked out of the gym after the game with Marta (Patrick's) & Marta (Bibi's) the fans were outside waiting for the team and they had them walk through the tunnel of cheers like we do on our way to the bus. She absolutely loved it. So, thanks again for making her feel welcome.

That's all I got for you now but we have a game Wednesday against Stal Wola and I hope to see you all there. Until next time................................................................. Love

"Enjoy the Journey"
Love
Bud

Highlights

Here are some highlights from our last game on our website....

http://sportowa.com.pl/fanclub/wideo?view=play&id=19

"Enjoy the Journey"
Love
Bud