Bogdan Popescu: Basketball in the Balkans developed a lot in the last years

Bogdan Popescu is one of BC Timisoara′s most experienced players. The 32-year old power forward is in his first season with the club from Timisoara, as he spent the last year playing for CSA Steaua Turabo. He is the only one from BC Timisoara′s roster who has playing experience in the Balkan League before this season. Popescu was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for balkanleague.net.
 
Q: This is your second season, playing in the EUROHOLD Balkan League, as you have played before with Steaua two years ago, what are your impressions from the competition?
 
Bogdan Popescu: The Balkan League is a lot better than it was 2 years ago. Teams have new and better players and it′s very tough to win on the road.
 
Q: You lost in Samokov after a last-second basket, what can you say about this game?
 
BP: I don′t want to comment on the referees. They made some mistakes, but that′s not the reason why we lost. I think that we lost because we didn′t know how
to manage the last minute of the game.
 
Q: You are one of the most experienced guys on the team, are the younger players coming up to you for advice and help?
 
BP: We have a couple of Romanian players, who need some guidance. When they come to me for advice, I′m glad to give it to them.
 
Q: The Romanian league will be very strong and competitive once again, and also the Balkan League is getting stronger, after the addition of the  two Israeli teams, what is Timisoara′s goal for this season?
 
BP: We like to win every game. Our main goal is ofcourse  to win the Romanian championship. In the Balkan League we want to move past the group phase of the competition. It is going to be a hard thing to do because we are going to face nothing but tough teams.
 
Q: What is your opinion on the development of the basketball in the Balkans
in the last years, having in mind that you have played in some of Europe′s top leagues, such as the French and the German?
BP: Basketball in the Balkans grew and developed a lot in the last couple of years. Teams from Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Montenegro invested a lot of money, wanting to be on the top. Everywhere you go, you can find very good teams with very good players.