CSKA vs. JSF Nanterre: 72-60 (+12)
Ettore Messina, CSKA head coach:
First of all I should say that I consider Nanterre to be a clear candidate to qualify for the Top 16. They defeated Barcelona in away game, they fought against Fenerbahce-Ulker until the very end and that’s a good proof of their quality. Nanterre is famous with athleticism, good defense, good shooters and rebounding and, by the way, I am happy that we were able to win the rebounding battle tonight, that was really important. We played excellent second and third quarters. We defended well, moved the ball, played defense and deserved to be up 20. For what had happened in the end of the fourth quarter I take full responsibility. I wanted to try Nenad [Krstic] who was obviously not ready after missing more than 2 weeks. This is not his fault, I just wanted to try to make him feel the rhythm. Besides I put on the floor the players who sat on the bench for a while and they were cold, that influenced the team game too. I would like to underline it again: that was my responsibility and hopefully my players don’t blame themselves, that they feel the same.
Pascal Donnadieu, JSF Nanterre head coach:
We knew that CSKA will play better than in the game in Paris. We were also not as good as usually today. The most difficult part of the game for us was the end of the first half. CSKA kept it going and we tried to fight without thinking of the point margin. We could have play more aggressive. But we finished the game well and that’s a positive thing.
