UNICS — CSKA, 26 May 2024

UNICS Kazan – PBC CSKA: 95-96 (+1)

UNICS: Dimitrijevic (22 + 3 rb + 6 as + 3 st + 5 pf), Reynolds (16 + 4 rb + 2 as), Kulagin (12 + 3 rb + 2 as), Labeyrie (8 + 4 rb), Knight (13 + 8 rb + 6 as + 5 to + 4 pf) – start; Belenitskiy (2 + 3 rb + 2 as), Zaytsev (0), Stulenkov (DNP), Odinokov (DNP), Lazarev (DNP), Green (4 + 4 pf), Vorontsevich (18 + 6 rb)…

CSKA: Trimble (28 + 3 as + 2 st + 5 to + 4 pf), Ukhov (8 + 2 as + 2 st + 4 pf), Jean-Charles (12 + 7 rb + 3 as + 2 bs), M'Baye (16 + 2 as), Kurbanov (6 + 5 rb) – start; Ware (8 + 3 rb + 4 as), Jekiri (6 + 3 rb + 2 as), Gankevich (DNP), Astapkovich (4 + 2 as + 3 to), Antonov (5), Hanlan (3), Kardanakhishvili (DNP)…

Andreas Pistiolis, CSKA head coach:

This was a hard-fought game, as it should be in the final, in a meeting of two great teams. We took the first win, but it doesn’t mean anything, it’s only a quarter, three more are needed. We showed character, but there is still a lot of room for improvement if we want to become champions. We must forget about “yesterday” and focus on “tomorrow”. To allow almost 30 points in the first ten minutes is unacceptable, this is not about our team, and here I see a lack of concentration. In addition, for the first time in the playoffs, we were outrebounded. These components need more effort. Melo did what he had to do. He did his job and did it well. I know people like to highlight individual performances, but this is a team game. The team played great, everyone supported each other, and we got what we wanted.