“We're on the right track.”

In a world where the idea that you can successfully successfully gain more and more land in which various specialists offer recipes in 7 steps for remarkable results, Mihai Măciuca's story impresses with the fact that they do not fit in the anterior style.

Bucharest – Galați – Pitești – Cluj, the road to Mihai Măciuca towards the elite of the local basketball

Măciucă did not quickly become one of the best domestic players and did not burn stages, but step by step, working hard and with patience, progressed more and more.

Born in Bucharest, he made his junior in the capital and even at Dan Dacian, his first club, he had to win his place in the main team. He obtained trophies and then left for CSM Steaua Eximbank Bucharest, a band that, at that time, had a promising project for both seniors and juniors.

At 18, he made the decision to leave the hometown and go to Galati to make the transition to the seniors. At first it was quite difficult, especially since he was attached to the family and was the first time he left home.

He took advantage of the FRB rules on U23 players, integrated into the team and gradually adapted into the National League. Then, in 2018, he left for FC Argeș Basketball, where year by year he progressed and received an increasingly important role.

Being closer to home, it has gone more easily over obstacles, weights and became a basic member of the team. Looking back, he says the mental side and the work were the two elements that helped him grow.

“I started working on this side and I think it helped me to overcome certain obstacles throughout the season or during matches. That power to reset after a less good phase. I still work on it.

There was also a lot of individual work, many hours and extra throws. I also think I have never lost my pleasure over these years. Because, after all, I do what I like, what I love, “said Măciucă.

Mihai Măciucă/PHOTO: U-BT.Basketball

Arrival at U-BT, a shock for Mihai Măciucă: “I remember the first match in EuroCup”

After 5 years spent at FC Argeș Basketball, the time has come to move to the next level, and Măciuca transferred to the U-BT champion Cluj-Napoca. “In the first phase, I was surprised by the offer from Cluj. I said from the first that it is the place where I really want to take the next step. To receive an offer from the champion team and to want you is a big compliment. I wanted to accept this challenge.”

There followed a new period of adaptation, the hardest being the pace at which the band coached by Mihai Silvășan played. Also engaged in the championship, and in Eurocup, the black and white had two matches a week, many trips abroad and a lot of time spent at airports.

“It was a pleasant shock. In particular, the fans who came match by match and filled the room. I remember my first match in Eurocup, when I walked on the field and saw 6-7 thousand people in the stands. It was a super exciting moment for me and it took me a little time to get used to these things,” he admitted.

25is Mihai Măciuca's personal point record

At the same time, in Cluj, the young basketball player had the opportunity to be a colleague with some players with impressive CVs and a great experience. Măciuca named Patrick Richard, DJ Seeley, Jarell Eddie and Sasu Salin as the teammates from whom he learned a lot and from which he tried to steal the job.

“He is the leader of the locker room, our leader. All the time he helps us with tips during the match. There are phases that go into fractions of a second and any advice is welcome, especially from the captain,” described Măciuca on Richard.

From abroad, the 24-year-old player most admires Mario Hezonja (Real Madrid) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (Los Angeles Clippers), but he also likes Dzanan Musa (Real Madrid), Nigel Hayes-Davis (Fenerbahce Istanbul) or Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers).

Mihai Măciucă wants to take the next step and reach his idols abroad, to a team to play a significant role. Dreams at Euroliga but, in the short term, the goal is to win a new title in Romania.

Mihai Măciucă/Photo: Euroleaguebasketball.net

Mihai Măciucă, about the complicated season of the team: “We are on the right track”

In a discussion with GSP.ro, Măciucă spoke about the current season, about the chances of a new title, about the Eurocub teams, but also about his game and how he spends his free time.

– You are in the second season in Cluj, one quite different from the first. In the last season, everything went very well, now there are difficulties and problems. How do you evaluate this season?
– It was a more interesting season than the precedent, because we had a lot of obstacles as a team, an aspect that united us. I could see, I say, our evolution from match to match. We can see how we started, for example, the course of Eurocup and how we finished, reaching the quarterfinals.
Overall, it was a different season, more challenging than the previous one. Teams have become better and the desire to beat ourselves I would say that it is getting bigger.

– What did you do to overcome obstacles?
– I would say that the power of the group, the team spirit, the communication. We tried, throughout the season, to be excellent in our role. It took a bit until we managed to do this, but in the end it came out.

– How do you see the end of the championship and your chances at a new national title?
– It will be an interesting and quite balanced end. We want to touch our tip in the playoff, which is the most important. I think we're on the right track. We work daily at workouts to improve our defense and I think, until the playoff starts, we will be able to be in maximum form and get where we want, that is to be champions again.

11.1is Mihai Măciucă's average points in season 2024-2025

Spain, another world! Major differences between Iberian and Romanian basketball

– After all your travels in Europe, which is a team or two that impressed you? I mean facilities, how they are organized and so on.
– Obviously, Valencia, who is a team that has played so many years in Euroliga and has extraordinary facilities. It was like a kind of shock to see the way he plays and everything that happens there. I liked the facilities of those from Cdevita Olimpija Ljubljana. Have a very beautiful room.

– What do you think do the Spaniards differently, the Germans, even the Slovenians compared to what we do? Aspects that could help us to develop basketball.
– At the Spaniards, I saw that they keep the same pattern and the same style of play from the junior. As a result, it is easy to integrate into a team of seniors, being used to play at the same pace, to do the same workouts. It is easy for him to impose itself, after all, if it is quality.
Another factor would be the constant they have and which they show. In addition, individual training, which are very important. But they also have the opportunity to train at any time they want and anytime they want, which in Romania is quite difficult. There is no necessary infrastructure, you often have nowhere to train.

– How has your game have evolved over the last 2 years, since you are in Cluj?
– I think I manage to show that constant that I have tried to have since last year. I start to bear fruit and all the overtime we have spent so far on training. Throwing 3 points is my main weapon I work everyday. It is great that the results are seen. It is a sign that I have to keep it that way, that I am on the right track.

– I saw matches where you registered 15, 20, even 25 points. I also saw parties in which you registered less, but you did it in key moments, important moments. How do you manage to keep calm? Do you see a progress in this aspect?

– Of course. I try to keep my calm always during the match. I am the kind of player who does whatever is needed for the team. In the last games, for example, the team needed to play more in position 4, which is not my natural position, but I did it. I could say that versatility helps me and it's another asset of mine.

3is the position that Mihai Măciucă occupies in the ranking of the best local scorers

Mihai Măciucă/PHOTO: U-BT.Basketball

What happened to the book received by Mihai Măciuca from Mihai Silvășan, his coach

– What are the aspects you want to work for for the next season?
– offensive recovery. Many times it happens to go and try to recover offensive, but I do not succeed and I would like to work on this aspect, in positioning. And maybe a bit to the way I beat the ball.

– If we get out of the field, what are your hobbies? What do you do when you are not in training, when you do not make overtime or when you do not look at basketball?
– I could say that I have no hobbies out of the ordinary. I like to go out, of course when it's the beautiful weather. I walk, I go for coffee with my girlfriend. Now one of my hobbies is my dog, the moon. I really like to train, to learn it, to stay with it. Soon we will be able to go out with her for a walk, so we will be three. I'm playing on the PlayStation. I like to read, especially personal development books.

– In the Video with Secret Santa, you received a book from Mihai Silvășan, your coach. Did you read it?
– That book I had read years ago, so I didn't need to read it. I made her a gift.