By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Khimki’s coach stated that those numbers were more than crucial for the final outcome of the game: “Congratulations to CSKA Moscow for their victory. We were equals in every statistic category except the free throws. They shot the double compared to us. It was very difficult for us. In the third quarter they got 14 points, all from free throws. This is the difference. On the other hand I don’t want to complain about the referees, many coaches do it in EuroLeague and I think this is a problem. I don’t do it. I have to mention that in this tight game, that was very strange. Still we had our chances. We couldn’t make some lay ups in crucial moments and I honestly believe that if we got the lead we could put more pressure to CSKA. Anyway, we will continue our effort and I have to say congrats to my players”.
Coach Dimitris Itoudis spoke about the game and third quarter: “My team demonstrated character and team spirit. We had the game under control. The third quarter cost as a lot. Khimki’s full pressure created issues for us and we made many turnovers. However, we managed to contain their big leaders. I have to say thank you to the 5.000 fans who were present in our Universal Sports Hall, they created a great atmosphere if we were playing in our bigger gym, the Mega Sport Arena, I am sure that the number will be much bigger”.
Itoudis also explained the situation with the injuries of his players: “Nando De Colo come here with a big headache, it’s not an excuse just a fact. Leo (Westermann) is making progress, I can’t give you numbers about when he will return, maybe after two weeks we will have something more certain to say. We got Othello (Hunter) and Vorontsevich back in the team”.
And when he was asked about the limited time of Vitaly Fridzon on the court, Itoudis reacted: “I think that it’s not important to speak about one player, but about the team. I think that’s important. I am not here to satisfy people, I am here to win”.