CSKA vs. Caja Laboral: 83-63
Evgeny Pashutin, CSKA head coach:
“We were concentrated, mentally ready for the game. I was afraid that after the blowout win in the Game 1 the players will show disrespect to the opponent, but that was not the case. As we expected, it was very physical game. From the very beginning our opponents pressed Planinic and Khryapa, Splitter scored 11 points in the first quarter. But we withstood the onslaught, adjusted our defense, stopped Caja Laboral’s fast breaks and made them play in our rhythm. Now I am leaving the press conference and we will start to prepare for the next game. That’s a playoffs and everything can happen. Caja Laboral plays different basketball at home. I expect us to play the same style of game as we had in the first quarter for 40 minutes – with high level of contact with tight defense on our leaders.”
Dusko Ivanovic, Caja Laboral head coach:
“We started well, played patiently, controlled the game but went down mentally when CSKA made its 10-0 run in the third quarter. I think this is not the best moment to explain the reasons for that publicly. Serious team which plays the Euroleague quarterfinals should not allow itself to do that even when the strong opponent like CSKA makes big run. You should stay focused and fight till the end. We have to face the reality, CSKA is now leads 2-0 in the series, but they are not in Paris yet.”
