Wide step forward

CSKA vs. Panathinaikos (Athens): 77-51 (+26)

CSKA: Micov (12), Fridzon (7), Jackson (4 + 4 rb + 5 as), Pargo (2), Krstic (10 + 3 rb + 2 bs), Weems (23 + 4 rb + 3 to), Vorontsevich (9), Kaun (2), Khryapa (4 + 11 rb + 7 as + 4 to), Hines (4)…

Panathinaikos: Bramos (4), Curry (2 + 3 rb), Batiste (2), Fotsis (3 + 4 rb), Ukic (15), Lasme (4), Mavrokefalidis (8), Gist (6 + 2 bs), Maciulis (5 + 4 rb), Wright (2)…

Obviously we played a good game. First of all because we were consistent on defense, the players were ready to sacrifice defensively. We did everything possible to make it difficult for Panathinaikos to score. Besides we were quite patient. Usually when you’re up by 10-12 points and you cannot raise the margin to 20 you have a kind of scare and you rush. But we showed mental toughness, we were patient, we defended our lead, made another push in the last quarter and closed the game. Our stats are good with exception of the turnovers. We are one of the best teams in Euroleague offensively so we can’t be happy with this number of mistakes. This is the thing we have to clean in our game. I am also proud to see how the team adjusted to the opponent. After the first game we talked about the ways to improve our spacing and I am thankful to the players for their ability to adjust after just one practice.