CLUJ-NAPOCA (FIBA Europe Cup) - U-BT Cluj-Napoca will get a much-awaited boost for the Round of 16 clash against Donar Groningen, with captain Aleksandar Rasic returning to action.

After tearing his Achilles tendon in the final stretch of last season, the 33-year-old Serbian floor general was forced to put basketball to the side for an extended period of time, but he is now back healthy and eager to get back into the full swing of things.

It took a long time for Rasic to step back on the floor.

"It was a very difficult injury, but that period of my life is now behind me and I am so happy to be back on the court again."Aleksandar RasicAleksandar Rasic

Having suffered the injury in early May, Rasic missed nearly nine months — 269 days, to be precise — before making his return in a hard-fought 76-72 win against Politehnica Iasi on February 3.

Needless to say, you could tell he was still rusty. After coming off the bench, Rasic played 16 minutes and finished the game with 6 points on 2-of-7 attempts from the field, all from three-point range.

"It was a very difficult injury, but that period of my life is now behind me and I am so happy to be back on the court again. I am still not the 'old me' but I feel better with every practice," the guard told FIBA.basketball.

"It almost feels like I had never left."

He continued to grease the wheels in the Romanian Cup with an impactful 14-point performance against Timisoara, allowing U-BT Cluj-Napoca to advance to the Final, going on to defend the title against CSM CSU Oradea.

"I want to thank the coaches, the organization and our medical staff for all the help that I got during this period of my life and especially for being very patient with my recovery," said Rasic, tipping his hat to everyone on his long road back to the hardwood.

Despite not being able to help the club on the court in the FIBA Europe Cup up to this point, the veteran made sure to keep a close eye on how his teammates were doing. 

Although the dramatic fashion in which they clinched a spot in the Round of 16 may have come at a cost of a few extra grey hairs for Rasic, he only had positive things to say about the play of his teammates.

"I am very happy and proud of how we played in the FIBA Europe Cup so far. We had a newly-assembled team for this season and we also had to change a couple of players during these six months," said Rasic, chipping in with his two cents.

"In a situation like this, it's very difficult to be consistent. That's why we had a lot of ups and downs during the season."

"We never gave up and always fought till the end of every game, like it was do or die. This is why I am very optimistic about our future together as a team."Aleksandar RasicAleksandar Rasic

U-BT Cluj-Napoca qualified for the Play-Offs with a gritty 77-71 win against Group L rivals Keravnos, which required a late 15-2 run to complete a 14-point fourth-quarter turnaround.

This exact never-give-up attitude, according to Rasic, summarizes the team's entire campaign and is also the reason he has high hopes for the rest of the season.

"We never gave up and always fought till the end of every game, like it was do or die. This is why I am very optimistic about our future together as a team," he said looking ahead.

However, extending their European run — already an improvement on last year's Second Round exit — will be no easy task. The draw paired the Romanian champions with Donar Groningen, who defeated U-BT Cluj-Napoca in both head-to-head meetings earlier in the campaign.

"Donar Groningen is a very good team and they play good basketball, which they have already shown," Rasic acknowledged. "But it's not really important who we play against. Our main goal is to focus on our own game and try to improve in every part of the game and we had time to do that."

U-BT Cluj-Napoca are yet to pierce Dutch armor in the FIBA Europe Cup this season, but they have every reason to believe third time will be the charm with the captain and locker room leader back in the fold.

FIBA