By Stefan Djordjevic/ sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow made it to their historic 20th EuroLeague Final Four but their milestone wasn’t coupled up with a trophy as they fell to Anadolu Efes in the semis.
The Russian team showed great character to bounce back from a 20+ points deficit and had a couple of chances to win the game but it was too late.
Nonetheless, coach Dimitris Itoudis was very proud of his players and believes this success, challenge, and fall should be used as a lesson in sports and life.
“I’m proud. And I told them before the game, the four teams that made it to the Final Four should be proud. It’s a big thing, not something granted. Especially considering these unprecedented times with the pandemic and the injuries. We were proud but we didn’t come here to just have that feeling. We came here for a reason and each team that comes here, comes for the championship,” he said and added.
“In life or in sports, you don’t choose to fall but if you do, you’ve gotta fall forward and we chose to fall forward. Get the right messages and become a better team, better individuals and use the adversities to grow.”
It will be hard for CSKA to recover from a heartbreaking loss like this and compete in the third-place game but the coach noted that they are professional at the end of the day and will come out to win.
“Let’s be honest. Over here, the four teams are coming for the championship game. Nobody comes for the third spot. At the same time, we are professional and we are here to compete. We are going to prepare for it with this bitter taste.”
The clash against the loser of the semifinal clash between Barcelona and Olimpia Milano will also be a good chance to fix some mistakes from the loss and prepare for the upcoming challenges in the VTB League. Coach Itoudis without a doubt already knows what to look at.
“They were dominant in almost 27 minutes. The lack of communication on our part and too much respect for the great team of Efes. We gave them a lot of spot-up shots which was not our plan. They were very dominant in the first half with almost 60% from beyond the arc. The fact that they went 1-8 from behind the arc in the second half shows how we changed the attitude and defensively, especially at the start of the fourth quarter.”