By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Veteran power forward Viktor Khryapa was the one to lift the EuroLeague trophy to the sky of “Mercedes Benz” arena last year, following the victory of CSKA Moscow over Fenerbahce in the Final.
This time, he and his teammates fell to Olympiacos in the semifinal. It was the fourth time that CSKA would lose to the Reds in a Final Four match.
Aaron Jackson talked about people getting “mentally haunted” by Olympiacos while Milos Teodosic said that, “Maybe it comes from above” regarding their losing streak vs the Reds.
Does their captain agree that the problem his team faces vs Olympiacos has deeper roots than what is taking place ont he floor?
“I don’t agree with that. If you take the last game, the semifinal, we lose it. We lost control around 25 minutes into the match. Not because we have some mental problems or anything. But because we made mistakes on the floor. It’s not connected with what happened five years ago in the same place.”
The Russian player talks about the 2012 Final when the Reds came back from a 19-point deficit to win the title.
“It’s not anything like that. New team, new season, new chance to fight. This is it. OK if you want you can find some similarities but it’s only talk. Not the truth. I can show you the mistakes we did to lose the game, and any coach can.”
Khryapa is becoming 35 years old on August while his contract expires at the end of the season. Same as most of his current teammates (Milos Teodosic, Kyle Hines, Aaron Jackson, Cory Higgins and others).
Does he see himself in CSKA or EuroLeague in general for the next season?
“I think we need to finish the VTB League playoffs first and then we’ll see. It’s an important month for us. I’m at a certain age when there’s no secrets anymore. People know me pretty well. If I find to wish to play, we’ll see.”