Tomislav Tomovic, head coach of basketball club Lokomotiv-Kuban, shared his thoughts after his team secured an away victory over CSKA in the first match of the VTB United League playoff semifinal series, winning 97-88 in overtime.
“Before this game, I said it’s the playoffs, and it’s going to be a tough battle from start to finish. I congratulate CSKA on their fight, but at the same time, I’m proud of my team. We stayed in the game and held on even when we were trailing on the scoreboard. We fought for all 45 minutes, and that became the key factor in today’s outcome. We continue this series, which will be a long one, and we’ll think about what we can do better.
It’s very demanding that after just 48 hours you have to step back on the court, but both teams are in the same situation. We’ll be ready for CSKA’s response and try to play even tougher,” Tomovic said, as quoted on the official VTB United League website.
CSKA: Jean-Charles – 15, Cleveland – 14, Ruzhentsev – 13, Kurbanov – 12, Trimble – 11, Mitrovic – 8, Ukhov – 7, Ware – 3, Antonov – 3, Astapkovich – 2, Gankevich, Karpenko
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Hadzibegovic – 20, Ishchenko – 19, Miller – 17, Martin – 13, Hunter – 13, Moore – 11, Temirov – 4, Kosko, Kvitkovskikh, Sheyanov, Konovalov, Samoylenko
