JOENSUU (Basketball Champions League) – Kataja Basket point guard Teemu Rannikko has long secured his status as an emblematic figure of Finnish basketball, has played for big-name clubs in Italy and Russia and recently turned 36 years old. It turns out however that all this has not taken the edge off his competitive gene.

"I take it as a personal challenge, as a 36-year-old point guard to go up against so many good guards in this group." - Rannikko

As www.championsleague.basketball found out when speaking to the Finnish legend, ever since Kataja qualified for the Basketball Champions League Regular Season he is as eager -if not more- than his younger team-mates for Group B action to get under way and to face off with the likes of Pinar Karsiyaka, Reyer Venezia, Le Mans Sarthe, Khimik, Maccabi Rand Media, Avtodor Saratov or CSM Oradea. And yes, he has factored in the grind of the 14 games and the travel involved.

"You go to play in Turkey for example and you are hyped-up even before you step on the court because you know you will play in front of some of the best fans." - Rannikko

“Of course there is going to be a lot of games, especially if you count in the Finnish league as well, where often times we get to play twice a week,” Rannikko admitted. “But, on the other hand, it is so nice to compete once again against the high-level teams, to go back to places I used to play in and see how I can do this year against those players. I take it as a personal challenge, as a 36-year-old point guard to go up against so many good guards in this group. So I think the positive effect is much bigger than the negative.

“Besides, as a team, these kind of games will help us later on in the Finnish league. Playing with that kind of intensity, playing against the better teams is how you can get better. You go to play in Turkey for example and you are hyped-up even before you step on the court because you know you will play in front of some of the best fans. So it’s easier to motivate yourself to play against a team like Pinar Karsiyaka.

"The Finnish national team is doing very well, but the league needs to take bigger steps to reach where I would like to see it," says Rannikko

“I told the guys that now we’re going to have the chance to play with some really good teams and see where we really are, if we can compete. Our team is not at that level budget-wise so for both the American and the Finnish guys on the team this is a chance to compete against guys who are getting paid nicely and see what they have to do to get to that level.

“What’s for sure is that it’s going to be a very tough group, wherever it’s Venezia, or Le Mans or any team on the list, they’re all very good teams. So it’s going to be fun. We will go out to win every game, even though we will be the underdogs in almost all the games. Nothing is finished before it even starts, we will have 40 minutes to compete and try and get some wins.”

"That’s what I would like to see from other clubs in Finland too, try to play in Europe and bring big European teams to Finland so that people can see better basketball and for the players to showcase what they can do at this level." - Rannikko

Kataja are one of the most well-versed Finnish teams when it comes to European campaigns, but they have never before competed at such hight level as the BCL. It will be a milestone not only for the Joensuu club but for every Finnish team, the experienced point guard argues.

“Kataja always wanted and tried to compete in Europe, the year before I came they reached the quarter-finals of the EuroChallenge and that was a huge thing for the club,” Rannikko said. “That’s what I would like to see from other clubs in Finland too, that they try to play in Europe and bring big European teams to Finland so that people can see better basketball and for the players to showcase what they can do at this level. I am proud of my club for achieving this.

“When I arrived at Kataja, the club had reached many play-off finals but never won the championship, so everybody was saying that Kataja is a team that plays well, reaches the finals and loses there. My first year we actually lost in the finals but the second year we finally won and it was a big relief for everybody in Joensuu and for the people of the organisation who finally achieved the reward they wanted for so many years.

"A lot of Finnish clubs say it’s great that Kataja is playing in the Basketball Champions League and as soon as we qualified over Södertälje many other teams sent us congratulations."- Rannikko

“Basketball is growing very nicely in Finland, we’re going to host the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 group in Helsinki next year and we’ve played in our first ever FIBA Basketball World Cup and three straight FIBA EuroBasket tournaments. So the national team is doing very well, but the league needs to take bigger steps to reach where I would like to see.

“A lot of Finnish clubs say it’s great that Kataja is playing in the Basketball Champions League and as soon as we qualified over Södertälje many other teams sent us congratulations. To the rest of the clubs, this was a great step for Finnish basketball as a whole, because it means that the league as a whole is better and it deserves respect.”