By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
VITORIA-GASTEIZ–If there’s a guy who plays bigger than his size constantly in the EuroLeague all those years, he is named Kyle Hines. The EuroLeague champions with Olympiacos and CSKA Moscow is gearing up for one more Final Four after a tough year for the Army Team.
“I expect a rematch from last year’s semifinal and we hope to be more physical”, said Hines who agreed that CSKA faced adversity, but once more emerged triumphantly: “This was a challenging year, but the fact that we are here shows our character, the character of our team, that we are battle-tested”.
And that’s why the semifinal against Real Madrid is expected to be a fight: “it’s not about X and O, it’s about the heart and all those small things”.
Here’s what Hines had to say just hours before the matchup with “Los Blancos”.