The captain is questionable

25.03.2009
Matjaz Smodis (photo T. Makeeva, cskabasket.com)
On Thursday our team will play the second game of Euroleague quarterfinal series against Partizan Belgrade. The team doctors do not guarantee that CSKA captain Matjaz Smodis who injured his hip in the first game will participate in the game.

After the quadriceps concussion the Slovenian forward practiced individually on Wednesday, finding it difficult to run together with his teammates. Smodis' will be reexamined in the morning - now his status for the game is questionable, according to CSKA head coach Ettore Messina. The other player missed by our team is Victor Keyru, who will also have his injured ankle examined tomorrow.

After renewing the number of Euroleague playoffs defensive records in the first game our team hopes to improve its shooting percentage first of all, because CSKA players missed 20 out of 22 three-point shots on Tuesday.

"It’s a playoff series, and everything can happen, - Ettore Messina said. For sure I can say only that the second game will be as difficult as the first one. We will try to stay focused, to play good defense and to correct what we have done improperly."