This is what the protagonists of the game had to say after the dust settled.
Itoudis after win at Efes: "A very interesting game"
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4 mins read
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA Moscow
"It was a very interesting game, another one between Efes and CSKA. We're getting used to that: high score, thriller, you know. I think that we were the better team today, so congratulations to my players. I think we played to the level of physicality that is necessary to play such a game on the road against a defending champion. We came over here short-handed, but the guys kept believing. We got to the third quarter and built such a confident difference, let's say, double-digit margins all the time. And after that, their stars put a little bit of pressure on us, we made some wrong decisions. Probably, we were a little bit tired because of the small rotation; maybe that's on me. But I think that overall, we were the better team. We handled the situation well and we managed to accomplish a good win and prove to us that we can really play ball."
Ergin Ataman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"Defensively, we played a terrible game. To give up 100 points on our own court, it's very difficult to win. Especially in the first half, we gave them 8 offensive rebounds and 15 points after those rebounds. So I think that today, we didn't answer them physically, and our shooters, except Micic, missed a lot of shots. Shane was 0 for 7 on three-point shots. Anyway, in the last quarter we tried to come back, but it was not enough. Also, we gave them 37 free throws. I don't know; I think that our defense was not good. We made too many fouls; 37 free throws in that kind of game is too much. So, it was not a good game for us."
Johannes Voigtmann, CSKA Moscow
"For us, it's a good way to finally get the first win. And against a reigning champion, it's always a good win, especially on the road. This team is very talented and it's very tough to stop them. We struggled a little bit, especially at the end, to stop them. But we somehow found the way to be better on offense than we were in Milan. I think that was it. It was tight at the end. We gave up this big lead. We're just happy to be back winning."
Tornike Shengelia, CSKA Moscow
"It was a thriller game. You have to give credit to Efes; they never gave up. But neither did we. Even though they came back to within a couple of points, we kept our cool and followed the game plan that Coach gave us, and executed. We moved the ball. Everyone contributed defensively and offensively. Johannes [Voigtmann] did an amazing job on the boards, Iffe [Lundberg], Will [Clyburn], everybody. On the defensive end, things that don't show up in the statistics, we did it. We fought for the 50-50 balls and I think that at the end of the day, that's what made the difference."