By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Tornike Shengelia wished to retain #23 after moving to CSKA Moscow and the previous holder Daniel Hackett was extremely happy to change his number. The Georgian forward walked through the brief process needed to complete the jersey acquisition via an interview shared on CSKA’s official YouTube portal.
“Danny is a great guy. When I called him and asked him to consider letting me wear #23, he did not even allow me to finish the sentence,” he recalled, “He said “no problem”, that he respects me as a player and a person, and he wants me to be comfortable with this team and if this is what it takes he was willing to give it to me. That was something amazing.”
After a long run with Baskonia and being crowned ACB champion in the season-ending tournament following the 2019-20 season break due to the coronavirus pandemic, Shengelia considered himself ready for a fresh challenge.
“It was an ongoing interest by both sides. This year we finally had the chance to make it happen,” he mentioned regarding his move to the defending Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions, “I think I did everything I could with Baskonia.”
Shengelia’s full interview: