By Mehmet Bahadir Akgun/ info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes swingman Krunoslav Simon felt like his team suffered a blackout in the last five minutes of the EuroLeague semifinal against CSKA Moscow and before the winning finale.
Simon put Efes up 64 – 43 halfway into the third period and then everything went downhill for his team as CSKA almost completely erased that margin to make it a one-point game in the last play.
“It wasn’t easy for us. They came back,” Simon told Eurohoops. “We stopped to play five-six minutes before the end. We were starting to watch the clock and waiting for the time to expire. That’s not the best idea against CSKA. But it’s great to get the win and be in the Final”
CSKA forward Will Clyburn had a chance to complete the upset for the Russian side but his game-winning jumper in the very last seconds didn’t go in.
“We survived,” Simon, who finished with 10 points and six rebounds, said.
Now Simon and Efes will fight in the EuroLeague championship game for a second time in a row and the Croatian veteran hopes that his team will be lifting the trophy in Sunday night. “I feel proud for me and my whole team. We did it all together. It’s been a big project these three years. I hope that we’ll put the crown on these three years on Sunday because we deserve it.