Lang eyeing massive home support at Lausanne Masters

LAUSANNE (FIBA 3x3 World Tour) - Team Lausanne got the home crowd to its feet last year at the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Lausanne Masters. Star player Derrick Lang speaks about the Swiss fans' unbelievable support and the expectations this year with a revamped team.

FIBA.com: The Lausanne Masters start tomorrow. How excited do you feel?
Lang: I am very excited for tomorrow and I look forward to taking part of this fantastic event.  This is the second year I will be playing at the Lausanne Masters and I have already told to all my friends to come along. As last year, there will be a great atmosphere…I simply love it!

FIBA.com: Talk about the massive support you got from your home crowd last year at the World Tour.
Lang: To be honest, I did not expect to get such a massive support from the home crowd last year. It was my 1st experience and although we were the underdog, we were able to pass the 1st day and play on Saturday, it was great! The atmosphere was fantastic, I could feel the energy from the crowd supporting our team, it was special. Hopefully we will get the same huge support again this year.


FIBA.com: How much did you prepare for this event?
Lang: I am going on my 6th year as a professional basketball player here in Switzerland. Two years right in the city of Lausanne and now still in the city but with the team of Pully. I played all summer several 3x3 tournaments, and also my teammates played lots of games. We know this a tough tournament, it is very physical and you had to work hard to prepare it.

FIBA.com: How hard was it to get your ticket to the Lausanne Masters?
Lang: It was harder than the year before, the level of competition has increased. We played against tough teams from all part of Switzerland, we played against teams from Zurich, Luzern, etc. It was not easy and we really had to fight to hit the next level, nevertheless I really enjoyed it.

FIBA.com: Your team has slightly changed compared to last year. Do you think it will help you get further in the competition this year?
Lang: We have a new team, Yino Martinez who is one of my favourite players to play with in Switzerland; we have won a few tournaments together. Oliver Vogt who also was a professional Swiss player who I went to college with. And now the new young professional Marco Lehmann. Hopefully we will get further this year but anything can happen. Every team has worked hard to prepare the event. There are teams coming from different countries with lots of experience and honestily you never know what can happen. This is a great challenge for everyone and FIBA created a very exciting atmosphere around the World Tour.

FIBA.com: Talk about the expectations this season
Lang: We will be playing with the same mind-set of last year, one game at time.  We have the two games on Friday and we want to go through to play on Saturday, anything is possible. I am positive the crowd will be behind us and hopefully we can go up to the final. But you never know, this is basketball.  Most of the teams we will be facing have players that have professional experience and I also have guys who have played professionally so we are looking to stamp a ticket to the mecca of 3x3 basket in Abu Dhabi.

FIBA.com: What kind of support do you expect this time around?
Lang: I think there will definitely be some great support from my family and friends, I have already told all of them to come along and they will. Last year they were in the stands, it was fantastic! This is a unique opportunity and I have promoted the event through my social networks such as Instagram and Facebook. I think I will get lots of support from North America also. Finally, to all my fans if you want to follow me you can connect via Instagram dlangbasketball, Facebook Derrick Lang - Hawkins, my website dlangtraining.ch, Snapchat dlangbasketball

FIBA