Kyiv begin their quest to get back to the final of FIBA Europe's top club competition on Tuesday night in Ukraine.

FIBA Europe League finalists in 2005, Kyiv have made no secret of their desire to go one better in 2006. But before they can think about a return to the Final Four, Kyiv take on one of the suprises of the competition in the quarter-final play-offs, RheinEnergie Koeln.

A consistent bugbear for Pasquali in his two seasons with Kyiv has been the lack of high level competition in the Ukrainian Superleague, a factor which he feels hinders his team's chances in Europe.

"What concerns me the most is the lack of decent practice," said Pasquali in his pre-game interview with Kyiv's official web site. "You can’t tell we had difficult games against Ternopil. There wasn’t any pressure and hardly any motivation." 
 
"Our opponents, however, lost in the German Cup followed by an overtime loss, which indicates that they face serious competition and decent opponents."

Koeln have surpassed all expectations this season both in the Bundesliga, where they currently lie in fifth position, and in the EuroCup. Coached by former Yugoslav national team player Sasha Obradovic, Pasquali is very conscious of the threat posed by the Germans.
 
"The have many strengths: a very good backcourt American players, who are very confident in one-on-one situations. Also, Alexandar Nadjfeji will cause us some trouble with his excellent mid, and long-range shooting," he said.

"Energie is also a very good passing team, which compensates for the absence of reliable shooters. In addition, they are the best offensive-rebounding team in the EuroCup and we will have to pay special attention to that.

Pasquali also singled out Koeln's physical playing style and an interesting method of preparing for what could prove to be a forceful encounter.
 
"We are heading into a very difficult contest. Energie play very aggressively and, at times, rough. Their previous match-up against Maroussi looked more like a fight than a basketball game. We will have to adjust to it, and to make it easier for us, we stopped calling fouls during our practice scrimmages."