BLATT, DAVID
Darussafaka Istanbul
“I want to say good words about Buducnost and the year they had in the EuroCup and in the ABA League. They've had terrific results, and more importantly, played fine basketball and developed young players that will be factors in European basketball in the future. That says a lot about the program here. We played even better tonight than we played at home in the first game. Generally, in a short series, particularly the first two, it is more pressure for the home team to play, because it is basically a win-or-go-home in either case. I thought we handled this game in a much better way than Game 1, and perhaps Buducnost felt the pressure of knowing that a loss would mean the end of the series for them. My guys did a terrific job recognizing the moment, playing with great maturity and great responsibility. And this kind of game can make our team stronger. Kartal Ozmizrak gave a great performance. It is not just 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. You have to understand that recently he has not played a lot. We were missing tonight two starters, James Bell and Howard Sant-Roos, and Kartal got the call and answered in a big game. We don't win a game without his performance today.”