Writting from Berlin: Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The party was raging in the locker rooms of CSKA Moscow and Cory Higgins was celebrating with all his heart. “I am most definitely enjoying myself”. he said when we approached him. “How can I not to?”. Truly. Now a Euroleague champions, Higgins has been a hidden ace in the sleeve of coach Itoudis throughout this season.
As such, he was also thrown on the table of the Final vs Fenerbahce, where he scored 12 points and dished 3 assists. “We worked too hard this year in order to get here. And we worked too hard to not enjoy ourselves after accomplishing what we wanted”. Can’t argue with that.
Despite being down by 20 points, Fenerbahce came back and became more than dangerous to CSKA Moscow. But Higgins and his teammates reacted in such a fashion that allowed them to be ahead in the score at the final buzzer. “It showed what kind of team we have. We are so mentally tough too. Even though we let them back in the game, we knew that we can take back our lead. And once we went in overtime we knew that it was a different kind of game and we weren’t going to lose it again”, he said.
“Of course you have to respect the way they came back.”, commented Higgins “Fenerbahce is an amazing team. They fought like champions. It is unbelievable to come back from 20 points plus. But thankfully we were the ones to pull it out in the end”.
In a moment when everything seemed turned upside down for CSKA Moscow, how did he and his teammates found the courage to force the overtime and then win the game? “We looked at each other’s eyes and stayed positive and focused. We know that we still got this as long as we stayed together. And that’s what we did”.
After helping CSKA Moscow win the Euroleague in his first year int the team as also in the first year in the competition does he feel like a curse breaker, of sorts? “When you look at it like that… why not?”, he agreed before Joel Freeland’s screams interrupted us. “He is definitely too humble” were the British center’s remarks on his teammate. Humble and successful, even though a Euroleague rookie. “First year in CSKA Moscow… first Euroleague championship. I helped… rewrite the script perhaps. And this simply feels amazing”, said Higgins.