Time for the heroes

CSKA PBC – UNICS Kazan: 95-87 (+8)

CSKA: Ware (26 + 3 as + 4 pf), Trimble (10 + 5 rb), Jean-Charles (11 + 3 rb), M'Baye (7 + 4 pf), Kurbanov (0) – start; Mikhailovskii (1), Jekiri (6 + 2 as), Avramovic (32 + 3 rb + 5 as + 2 st), Ukhov (2 + 4 rb + 3 as + 2 st + 4 pf), Astapkovich (6 rb), Karpenko (0), Antonov (0)…

UNICS: Akoon-Purcell (12 + 4 rb + 3 as + 5 pf), Belenitskiy (2 + 6 rb + 3 st + 5 pf), Reynolds (20 + 3 rb + 2 as + 4 pf), Kulagin (2 + 4 as + 2 st), Lopatin (2 + 4 rb) – start; Komolov (DNP), Knight (13 + 5 to + 4 pf), Hilliard (9), Toropov (DNP), Ilyuk (0), Bako (4 + 7 rb + 2 as), Keene (23 + 3 as)…

Andreas Pistiolis, CSKA head coach:

First of all, I want to thank those who came to the gym today, the support was great. This is probably one of the best games in terms of atmosphere of all those we have played at home. As for the game, it was different compared to the first meeting. We expected the opponent to react. The only question was who would show themselves better today. We started the game disorganized, with very poor concentration. We allowed the opponent to score 28 points in the first quarter, which is unacceptable. Nevertheless, I am happy with how we responded. The guys showed team basketball, there were a lot of good individual performances. I got the impression that in the second half we controlled the game, scored more than 50 points and deserved this victory.

Aleksa Avramovic, CSKA guard:

This game was very different from the first. We made a lot of shots, as did UNICS. The game was tough, in the end we made a lot of three-pointers. Casper played great in both the first and second halves. It's only one game, the series is only 2-0. If we want to win the championship, we need to win in Kazan. To do this, we need to prepare, because we already know that it will be a difficult and physically tough game away. I think we can prepare for this. I hope our fans will come to Kazan, we need their help, because we feel better when they travel with us. Thank you for having so many of them in the stands today. Tomorrow is Victory Day, congratulations to everyone, I also had two grandfathers whom I lost in World War II. The most important thing is that it is over, and we won.