ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS
CSKA Moscow
“Congratulations to my players for closing the regular season with a win. Good performance overall, considering the circumstances, and the bad start. We wanted to be more aggressive, try to stretch the floor with a good pressure, good wingspan and good lineup we had, but it did not work out. After a very bad start, we had to start working, and working and working. We managed to take a lead in the first half, but it was not enough, they went into halftime up by 7 after that half-court buzzer-beater. In the second half, we were sharing the ball better, we found better ways to find open looks and actually be effective. That’s a part of the game, we have to read every game differently. After that, we dictated tempo with our offense in the second half, which we won 55-37. This is not the end of the season. We achieved the goal of getting first place, and I am looking forward to find out who will be our opponent in the playoffs. Kyle Hines is very important for the team, and his injury has to unite us. I told the players that in 2016 we also had a lot of injuries, and we won the title because the injuries united us. Hines is very important for us, but obstacles we are fighting will unite us, and some other players will step up.”