Jock Landale makes his return to Belgrade 0

Zalgiris is set for a face-off in Belgrade this Wednesday, as they take on Crvena Zvezda in the 18-thousand Stark Arena. The massive venue is expected to be near-full, with a terrific atmosphere in store.

One of the guys who knows well how it feels playing here is Zalgiris man Jock Landale, who spent last season in Serbia representing Partizan, a bitter rival to Zalgiris’ upcoming opponent Crvena Zvezda.

“It’s cool to be back, see things that remind you of all the memories from the year before. I know that their fanbase is nuts and they’re going to bring it. I’ve played in front of this crowd before, and I know they’ll hate me. It’s fun, bringing back all these memories.

The center admitted that he still keeps a warm relationship with his former teammates, who will be supporting Zalgiris tonight.

“If we win, it will be very special for me. I’m still very close with all my mates from Partizan, and they’ve been texting me good luck and we want you to win. A lot of the fans message me over social media. I take that to heart and I really want to get this win. I wanted the one in Kaunas really badly, and unfortunately we didn’t get that. Tomorrow we really got to get that win.”

Since the last time the two teams faced off in a low-scoring affair in Kaunas, the Serbians have changed quite a bit, with two very important additions of Kevin Punter and Vladimir Stimac.

“They’ve got new pieces that we haven’t seen before. We’ll do our best to scout them out. We’ll just have to do our best to deal with the atmosphere, because that can really slap you in the face if you’re not ready for it. Just mentally preparing for that, and trying to figure out the new team as best as we can. If we can do that in the first 5 minutes, I think we’ll be in good shape to get the win.”