Reporting from Berlin: Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Once again he was one of the finest warriors of his squad, and this time, his performance was translated into a qualification for his team to the Euroleague Final. His first as a player of CSKA Moscow, as the Russian team returned to a title game after 2012.
Kyle Hines was resting in the locker rooms when we interrupted him to ask how his team achieved victory over Lokomotiv Kuban. “All five guys on the floor and the ones who are on the bench always know what needs to be done. That’s how we won.”
CSKA Moscow scored 88 points against the best defensive team in Euroleague, How did that happen, according to Hines? “We played our own kind of basketball. The one that gives us many scoring opportunities, which we took advantage of. On defense, we managed to make many stops in whas was quite a physical game”.
The American center’s influence on the game of CSKA goes beyond the banality of the statistics sheet (8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists). He was constantly setting screens for his teammates and giving massive helps on defense. “I just wanted to help my team. It’s not just me though. This is a great win and a great accomplishment. But we have one more game”, he said.