Leunen, Avellino looking to make a splash in FIBA Europe Cup

AVELLINO (FIBA Europe Cup) - As one of six teams to arrive to the FIBA Europe Cup from the Basketball Champions League, Sidigas Scandone Avellino immediately entered the conversation as one of the main contenders.

The team's captain and self-described glue guy Maarty Leunen is hoping to continue to represent Italian basketball in a positive light and make the most of a rare chance to compete for an international trophy.

FIBA.basketball spoke with the 32-year-old American power forward about the team's ups and downs in the Basketball Champions League and the challenges that Avellino are set to face in the Round of 16.

How was the international break for you, Marty?
It was great. I went back home for eight days. It's always good to let the body and mind relax a little bit. Getting yourself out of basketball for a little while, so it was good. I have three kids and a wife back home, so it's good to be around them and around their daily routine.

I love the break. The season is very long, so if you can break it up into parts and get a few days where you can step away from basketball, it's great for us. It's a 10-month season and it's pretty tough on you mentally and obviously physically. I loved it.

Avellino are among the top teams in Serie A right now, but you didn't make it out of the Regular Season in the Basketball Champions League. All things considered, how would you rate the season overall so far?
It's been tough. We have played well at times, but we lost some important games. Obviously, we're doing well in the Italian league but we were unfortunate in the way that we played in the Basketball Champions League. We have to live with the consequences now, but I feel like we missed a good opportunity to compete. But we just weren't stepping up in the right time to win those games.

What are your expectations for the FIBA Europe Cup?
We are excited about it. Our goal is to win every game and win the competition, just like in everything else. We have a lot of stuff to prove just because we didn't do so well in the Basketball Champions League and hopefully we can represent our team and our country better in this competition. We will be going into every game looking to win and we know this is a good time to do it.

You have been drawn against Tsmoki-Minsk in the Round of 16. What are your impressions about the results of the draw?
I don't know a whole lot about the team. It's going to be my first time going to Belarus, but I'm excited just because it's a new opportunity, a new team that we have never played against. They have a lot of players who represent their country, they have a lot of pride and they'll come out and play hard. We're looking forward to it. It's obviously very important for us. Like I said, both myself and the whole team, we're all very excited.

For fans of the FIBA Europe Cup, who might have not followed Basketball Champions League so closely, how would you describe the team you've got in Avellino? What are your strengths?
We're pretty talented. We have the leading scorer of the Italian league, Jason Rich. We've got Kyrylo Fesenko, who is a huge force inside. We're just solid all-around in the other positions. You've got me as the kind of glue player of the team, who does a little bit of everything and keeps the team together. Thomas Scrubb is a versatile player who plays with a lot of energy. Dez Wells is an athletic American who can put the ball in the basket. We're just looking forward to hopefully coming together better as a team and showing what we're really made of.

You haven't had the chance to enjoy a lot of trophies throughout your career. Do you see this as an opportunity to add something to your trophy case?
Yeah, no question. The only thing I have won is a Super Cup with Cantu. It's always important to win trophies. I haven't done it very much in my career, so this is a great opportunity because it's already late in the season and we're one of the favorites. But it's upon us to make sure that we come out and play and that we're ready for every game.

If you had to pick from the other 15 teams in the field, who would you circle out as the most dangerous team?
I am probably going to be a little biased and just going to have to say it's one of the Italian teams, because I am more familiar with them. I understand how they play and how tough they are. Hopefully, we can represent the country and Italian basketball well. At the end of the day, we hope it's us competing for the championship and lifting the trophy.

FIBA