By Giorgos Orfanakis/info@eurohoops.net
Malcolm Delaney, Lokomotiv Kuban’s leader and Euroleague’s MVP in October, was unstoppable in the match against Panathinaikos, as he ended the match with 23 points, scoring all of them in the second half.
The American guard was the main figure after the end of the match and talked about his individual performance, the extra motivation he had due to the “strange” relationship between Giorgos Bartzokas and Panathinaikos’ fans, his special relationship with the Greek coach and Lokomotiv’s great performances so far.
“I played well from the third quarter until the end of the game. In the first half, I couldn’t do anything. Ι had dished out some decent assists, but I couldn’t find some rhythm. I was looking for a starting point and I found it after hitting two free throws,” was Delaney’s first comments, as he was rather surprised to find out that he scored 20 points in four minutes and 21 seconds.
“Did I really score so many points? The last time I had a similar performance was about two years ago. It happens some times, but not so often! I missed some crucial free throws against Barcelona and couldn’t let my team down again. I had made a promise to rectify and tonight’s game was a great opportunity.”
Regarding the match, he said: “Panathinaikos played tough in front of their fans and it was a must-win game for the team. We made a great start, just as we wanted to. Later, the opponent responded, played better defence and made a good run. We followed the directions of our head coach, though, and we earned the victory at the end.”
The 26-year-old guard knows that victories like this help the club to go to the next level: “Certainly, a result like this makes the team bigger. Last week, we had the advantage against Barcelona, however we lost the game. Today, the situation was similar, since the opponent reversed the situation and regained the lead. We learnt from our mistakes, though, and responded exceptionally.”
Panathinaikos’ fans and Giorgos Bartzokas don’t have a good relationship at all and this fact worked as an extra motivation for the MVP of the match: “I was thinking about that before the game. Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are the bosses of the Greek League. The coach won the Euroleague, however it’s Panathinaikos that usually prevails in the championship. They booed him when he entered the floor and I wanted to defend him in my way, as he always does for us. I wanted to earn the victory for him!”, Delaney said initially before mentioning the special relationship that exists between the two men.
“The coach trusts me and believes in my talent. It’s the first time in my career that I feel the coach understands my playing style and is so willing to co-operate with me. That helps me a lot. During yesterday’s training, he asked me to be as aggressive as possible and I did exactly that, at least in the second half.”
Now, Lokomotiv Kuban has a 5-1 record and plays extraordinary basketball. What is the team’s target, though? “Nobody was expecting us to have such a great record. Our basic target is to be competitive in every game. We have a very good coach and talented players. In the first match against Panathinaikos in Russia we showed part of our abilities and we are getting better game after game. Next week, Anthony Randolph will be back and will offer important solutions to us. It’s means everything to us to constantly improve.”