CSKA vs. Fenerbahce Istanbul: 88-70 (+18)
CSKA: James (31 + 4 as), Vorontsevich (10 rb), Hilliard (9 + 3 rb), Kurbanov (5 + 4 rb), Hines (8 + 7 rb + 3 bs) – start; Bolomboy (0), Ukhov (0), Antonov (0), Strelnieks (23 + 3 rb + 3 as + 3 st), Voigtmann (3 rb + 2 as), Hackett (6 + 4 as), Koufos (6 + 2 bs)…
Fenerbahce: Mahmutoglu (0), Kalinic (6 + 10 rb + 2 as + 2 bs), Sloukas (20 + 3 rb + 6 as), Williams (19 + 3 rb + 2 as + 2 st), Vesely (4) – start; Westermann (2), Biberovic (6 + 3 rb), Muhammed (3 + 2 as), Duverioglu (4 + 4 rb), Datome (6), Lauvergne (0), Stimac (DNP)…
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:
After our last game in the EuroLeague in Villeurbanne, we bounced back. For players and for all of us, there is not a better solution, when you have such an opponent in front of you, than to try to redeem yourself. You go out there, hustle, and I think this is what we did today. We controlled the game in terms of hustling. In the first half, we actually shared the rebounds under their basket, 9-9. The only part in which we were not that good was in turnovers. We were turning the ball over. We had 7 turnovers in the first half. The fact that we changed that in the second half and played the next 20 minutes with only 2 turnovers shows that we shared the ball well. We tried to target, in our plan, the weak spots and tried to create something out of it, and I think we managed to do that most of the time, finding good shots. Mike (James) had a very good game, Janis (Strelnieks) also from the perimeter, but everybody caught the rhythm. For instance, Kyle (Hines) opened the game with 3 blocks, Kosta Koufos comes in and blocks the ball, Vorontsevich comes in and has 10 rebounds… I want to say that each and everyone helped a lot. Even when I hate to talk about absent players during the season, it costs us down the stretch. What’s important is those that play, so congratulations to them. It is a good win, a big win, and another win in the EuroLeague, in this marathon. Thank you to our fans, the atmosphere was great.
