This is what the protagonists of the game had to say after the dust settled.
Monaco's Mitrovic on beating UNICS: "It is like some destiny."
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4 mins read
Zvezdan Mitrovic, AS Monaco
"First, it is like some destiny. We finished our European season here and now we start our first EuroLeague trip in Kazan. I am really happy because we won, especially in overtime. It is the beginning of the season and I think the teams are new. It is a completely different team than we played in the EuroCup Finals. I think we can analyze after the game, but my first impression is that I am really, really happy: we started with two victories in the EuroLeague."
Velimir Perasovic, UNICS Kazan
"It was a game in which we had great expectations to win it. I think that in the last 2 or 3 minutes, they made a run and that was the key of the game. There was this moment, after we had an advantage of 12 points, when we went down mentally. The key for the game was rebounds: we fought hard but in the crucial moments, they also took these rebounds. We played without confidence on offense, that was the key in the crucial moments of the game. They had an 0-8 run in 2 or 3 minutes (early in the fourth quarter). We called timeout and changed plays, but in those moments, the team was expecting something to happen, and nothing happened. That was another key in the crucial moments of the game."
Mike James, AS Monaco
"We won, and that is what we wanted to do. Getting a win on the road in the EuroLeague is always tough, so I am happy that we could do it, really. Defense. We started buckling down and sharing the ball, too, getting better shots, better looks. Basically, we starting getting stops and sharing the ball. We played together, as a team; it creates a nice energy and that leads to good things."
Donta Hall, AS Monaco
"I knew coming into this game that I had to bring our energy, on and off the court: rebounding, dunking and doing the things that I usually do."
Mario Hezonja, UNICS Kazan
“We didn’t start the game good enough. We fought and had the win in our hands at the end, but this is Euroleague. We have to understand the game better and learn from our mistakes. It is bad to lose these two home games, but it’s the process we have to go through and embrace the challenges.”
Andrey Vorontsevich, UNICS Kazan
“The game was not easy for both teams; the result was decided in overtime. Luck was on the side of Monaco. I hope that we will be able to quickly analyze our mistakes and will learn from this loss. Everybody wanted to win tonight. However, there are no victories without defeats. Now we are going to prepare for the next game, which will be held very soon, on October 12 against Bayern Munich.”