CHALON-SUR-SAONE (FIBA Europe Cup) - Elan Chalon point guard John Roberson will be as motivated and determined to set things right in the FIBA Europe Cup as anybody else after coming within grasp of the trophy in the Final Four hosted in Chalon-sur-Saone last year.

Although the French side went through an almost complete overhaul personnel-wise, the 28-year-old American playmaker was one of the few players found their way back to Jean-Denys Choulet's roster for another go.

FIBA.com spoke to the guard about reaching the Semi-Finals for the second year in a row, the five-point deficit before the home leg of the tie against Telenet Oostende, a memorable trip to Zagreb and an emotional return to Sweden to face Sodertalje Kings earlier in the competition.

The first leg of the Semi-Finals tie ended with a loss in Ostend, but you did well to keep the deficit to just five points. What are your thoughts about how the game unfolded and the margin separating the teams?
I think we did a good job to get the deficit back to five points. We got down early in the third quarter, which kind of hurt us. But I think we did a good job of fighting back and never giving up. Having got the deficit down to just five, I think it will be a manageable situation at home. I think we can do it; we just have to play a better game against them on Wednesday.

After the game in Belgium, you traveled to play Antibes Sharks in the French Pro A right away, taking care of business there. Now you finally got to come back home. Were the away trips taxing?
Yes, travelling is always tough. But we were still able to get some rest after the game in Antibes. It's always good to have a couple of days off. I think we'll be well-rested and ready for the upcoming game against Oostende. 

You haven't lost a single FIBA Europe Cup game at home. Do you feel confident before the return leg? In your mind, what aspects of your game will you need to improve?
We feel very confident at home with the fans behind us. We have a lot of support from them. I'm sure they will come out and support us in numbers against Oostende. As a team, we'll have to do a better job of controlling their big men, controlling their inside game as well as their rebounding and we should be fine.

Do you feel this sort of a rivalry adds an extra level of intensity?
I think they remember the series from last year. It was a hard-fought series. On our side, we only have me and Axel Bouteille from last season. That being said, I don't think it really changes much. The intensity is going to be there because it's the last four of the competition, not because we faced them last year.

You were part of the team that went all the way to the Final Four last year. How are the Elan Chalon teams similar and how are they different?
There are a lot of similarities. We have a great big guy in Moustapha Fall, just like we had Devin Booker last year. We have shooters, just like last year. We might have been a little deeper in our last campaign with more guys coming off the bench, but this year we play a little bit better on defense. We're more defensive-minded. They say that defense wins championships, so hopefully we can get that done.

Having got so far in the competition, is it fair to assume you have your eyes on the main prize this year? Also, do you feel the been-there-done-that experience from last year has helped you?
I've been telling my guys all year about the loss to Varese in the Semi-Finals last year and how bad it hurt. Having got so far, we don't want to settle on just making it this far again, we want to go all the way. That's our goal and hopefully we can achieve it. 

You shared a couple of moments from your trip to Croatia for the Quarter-Finals against Zagreb — taking a picture next to the statue of Drazen Petrovic, getting yourself a couple of his retro jerseys. Did you also get to visit the Drazen Petrovic Memorial Center? Where does this special appreciation for Drazen come from, especially for someone who grew up in the States?
I did get to visit the memorial center of Drazen Petrovic in Zagreb. It was definitely a special moment for me, knowing the history of basketball and knowing he was one of the best European players to ever play the game. Seeing the battles between him and Michael Jordan, and everything that he was able to do for his country, was definitely very special. They told me he's the only [basketball] player in the world to have a memorial dedicated to himself. That just shows you how much he means to his country and to the game of basketball.

Growing up as a fan of basketball, I've learned about him and his game, his work ethic. I've had a lot of coaches who have told me stories about him and how hard he worked and I've tried to put a little bit of that into my game as well. Him being a great shooter has motivated me to become a great shooter as well. 

There's one more thing we can't get away from talking about – your record-breaking performance against Cibona in Zagreb, that was quite Drazen-esque in its own right. Have you ever got as hot as that during a game, both in terms of 39 points and 10 three-pointers?
That game in Zagreb was a crazy game. I just got hot in the beginning and felt I simply couldn't miss. I was in one of those zones. Last year, I actually had a game against Nancy, where I hit 10 three-pointers out of 12, so it's happened before.

But I'm happy I did get hot, because Cibona were playing well too. If those shots hadn't gone in, maybe we wouldn't have been as close in the game. Luckily, we didn't lose by that much on the road and we were able to take care of business at home.

Talking about special nights – let's end the interview by going back to an earlier stage of the competition. You got a really warm reception in Sodertalje, when you played your former team. How heart-warming was it?
Going back to Sodertalje was one of the craziest experiences for me just because I spent so much time there, won three championships and the fact that coach Vedran Bosnic and the rest of the organization is still there. It meant a lot to me to go back and see everyone.

It's like my second home – whenever I go to Europe, I visit there. After I finish my season, I always go back to Sweden and work out with the guys. It's a family atmosphere, I love it there. It was a really warm welcome and I'm actually really glad we got the win, because I was really nervous for that game (laughs).

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