Backstage interview with Tomas VAN DEN SPIEGEL

MOSCOW (Euroleague) - Belgian center Tomas Van Den Spiegel has received a couple of dream calls from CSKA Moscow. The first came a couple of a seasons ago when the seven-footer was toiling away at Lottomatica Roma under coach Svetislav Pesic. Ettore Messina, the CSKA Moscow boss, knew of Van Den Spiegel from his time as a coach in Italy and needing reinforcements in the low post with Australia international David Andersen out for the season because of injury, Messina had CSKA swoop for Van Den Spiegel. The move paid huge dividends for both as he provided a spark off the bench for the remainder of the season to help CSKA capture the Euroleague crown. Van Den Spiegel left at the end of the 2006-07 campaign, but with his new team in Poland, Prokom Trefl Sopot, enduring a difficult campaign, he got a second chance to go to CSKA with both Alexey Savrasenko (season-ending shoulder injury) and Matjaz Smodis (recovering from Achilles surgery) unavailable. Van Den Spiegel missed Tuesday's 76-74 defeat at home to Olympiacos but could be pressed back into action on Thursday when Game Two of quarter-final series is played. During the Top 16, he gave this interview to FIBA.com.