Pierre Jackson - I am having a great time in Cedevita

Pierre Jackson arrived in Cedevita less than a month ago, while now everyone in the region knows his name. American point guard scored 70 points combined in the last two games for Cedevita and according to his words - He has just begun.

Read the full interview with Jackson.

Cedevita are winning, while you are playing in a very good form lately. What are your first impressions about the club?

"I am having a great time. The team welcomed me with their arms open and I am excited because we are winning and I am playing good. Everyone are in a good mood so far."

What is the secret of your excellent performances in the past couple of games?

"I do not know. I am healthy. I think that I am an NBA player, however I was not fully healthy during the past couple of seasons. Now I finally have a chance to play in full strength and I am showing what am I capable of. Luckily, I am having an opportunity to show that in Cedevita."

What was the key factor that made you accept the call from Cedevita?

"Earlier this year they offered me a contract, however I turned it down because I was waiting for a chance in the NBA. Still, that never happened, while Cedevita showed interest to sign me once again, and that was the crucial thing for me. Eventually, it turned out as a good idea."

In the previous round you had a chance to feel the excitement of playing one of the ABA League derbies in front of the famous Belgrade crowd. What was like to play in legendary Pionir Hall and what was the feeling when the home fans gave you applause at the end of the match?

"It was really fun. Partizan NIS fans are really passionate when it comes to their team. I saw it from the start, when I scored the first basket the gym got very loud. I feed myself with than energy and I got thrilled every time we scored or made some big run. I always want to make it clear to the fans that we are there and that we are not going to surrender that easily. I did not know that I got an applause from the Belgrade crowd. The people from my team told me after the match, while some fans even contacted me on Twiter and wished me a warm welcome. They wrote me that I am a good player. It is great and I really appreciate it."

What is your first impression about the ABA League?

"The league is really tough. Everyone are playing strong and you never know what will happen. You need to play hard against every team and we are trying to win as much games as possible."

How do you communicate with your teammates and have you already learned some of the local language?

"I have learned a few words. My accent is not really good, so it does not sound quite well, but I picked up some Croatian words. People here speak English, which helps me a lot in fitting in."

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Pierre Jackson - "Sjajno se provodim u Cedeviti"

Pierre Jackson je stigao u Zagreb pre manje od mesec dana, a danas već svi u regionu znaju za njegovo ime. Američki košarkaš je postigao 70 poena na prethodne dve utakmice za Cedevitu, a prema njegovim rečima - Tek je počeo da pokazuje šta zapravo ume.

Pročitajte ceo intervju sa igračem Cedevite.

Cedevita pobjeđuje, a vi igrate sijano u posljednje vreme. Kakvi su vam prvi utisci o klubu?

"Sjajno se provodim. Momčad me dočekala otvorenih ruku i uzbuđen sam što pobjeđujemo, a ja igram dobro. Svi su sada dobre volje."

Koji su ključni razlozi vaših odličnih igara otkako ste došli u Cedevitu?

" Ne znam... Zdrav sam. Mislim da sam igrač NBA kalibra, no prošlih nekoliko sezona nisam bio zdrav. Napokon imam priliku igrati zdrav i sada pokazujem za što sam sposoban. Srećom, to sam u mogućnosti pokazati u Cedeviti."

Što je bio odlučujući faktor da prihvatite ponudu Cedevite?

"Ranije ovog ljeta ponudili su mi ugovor, no odbio sam ga jer sam čekao NBA priliku. No, to se nije dogodilo, a oni su ponovno pokazali interes. Njihov ustrajanje u zainteresiranosti za mene bilo je ključno i ispostavilo se da je to bila dobra ideja."

U prošlom kolu ste imali priliku da osjetite igranje jednog od derbija lige u dobro poznatoj vrhunskoj atmosferi u Beogradu. Kakav je bio osjećaj igrati u Pioniru i kakav je osjećaj bio na kraju kad ste dobili aplauz od protivničkih navijača?

"Bilo je stvarno zabavno. Partizanovi navijači su zbilja strastveni u vezi svoje momčadi. Moglo se vidjeti već od početka utakmice, čim sam zabio dvorana je postala vrlo glasna. Ja se hranim takvom energijom i uzbudim se svaki put kad zabijemo koš ili napravimo seriju. Dajem navijačima do znanja da smo ovdje i da se nećemo lako predati. Nisam znao da sam na kraju dobio aplauz beogradske publike. Ljudi iz moje momčadi su mi to rekli, a nakon utakmice neki navijači na Twitteru su mi pisali poželjevši mi dobrodošlicu, pisali su mi da sam dobar igrač i takve stvari. To je sjajno i cijenim to."

Kakav je vaš dosadašnji utisak o ABA ligi?

" Liga je teška. Konkurencija je velika. Svi igraju čvrsto i nikad ne znaš što će se dogoditi. Protiv svake momčadi svake večeri moraš igrati jako i mi pokušavamo pobijediti što više utakmica možemo."

Kako se sporazumijevate s suigračima i da li ste već naučili nešto od lokalnog jezika?

"Naučio sam nekoliko riječi. Nije lako. Moj naglasak nije dobar pa ne zvuči tako dobro, no pokupio sam dosta hrvatskih riječi. Hrvati govore engleski, što mi mnogo pomaže i to mi je olakšalo prilagodbu."