Euroleague. BC Khimki vs. Laboral Kutxa15 january 2016

‪BC Khimki‬ outscored one of the best offensive Euroleague teams in Laboral Kutxa in the Top 16 week 3 game — 76-68 (17-12, 22-27, 20-9, 17-20) with 24 pts by Alexey Shved and 22 pts and 8 rebs by James Augustine! The next game our team will play in Euroleague Top 16 in Krylatskoe Sports Palace on Friday, January 22, 2016 vs. Brose Baskets. The beginning of the meeting is at 20.00 msk.

BC Khimki: Shved (24 + 5 rebounds + 5 assists + 2 steals), Augustine (22 + 8 rebounds + 2 assists + 2 steals), Rice (7 + 13 assists), Honeycutt (7 + 9 rebounds + 3 steals + 2 blocks), Monya (6 + 3 rebounds), Sokolov (4 + 6 rebounds), Todorovic (2), Vyaltsev (2), Dragic (2), Koponen.

Post-game quotes

Velimir Perasovic, Laboral Kutxa head coach:

“I think we lost the game in the beginning of the third quarter when we had an opportunity to have a little advantage. We didn’t score easy open shots, but at that moment we were still staying in the game. In the third quarter, Khimhi had its moments and got a 10-point lead. At that moment they played easy. They are a very offensive team. In the last quarter we were fighting and could do more. We came to 6 points, but they controlled the game. For me the key is last three minutes of the third quarter when we had really bad decisions both defensively and offensively. We missed some easy layups and easy shots”.

Adam Hanga, Laboral Kutxa forward:

“We had a chance to win this game, but in the second half we made mistakes both in defense and offense. We missed a lot of shots, even in the first half. But still we were competing. In the second half they had a 10-point advantage that broke the game. We couldn’t make a comeback. The good thing is that we lost only by 8 points in the end. We know that Khimki have good players as they beat Real Madrid twice and other big teams like CSKA. It’s a bad feeling for us because we could have won. It’s bad, but we have to focus on other games".

Rimas Kurtinaitis, BC Khimki head coach:

"For sure, I’m happy that we’ve won this game because we need to get victories at home. We know the system of getting to the playoffs. So we must win all games at home and look for one or two away games. It also depends on other teams, but usually eight wins are enough to go to the playoffs. So we took our victory at home against CSKA and now over Laboral Kutxa. It’s our plan like this and I’m happy we did it”.

Tyrese Rice, BC Khimki guard:

“I think the third quarter was very important for us. All the guys came out in the third quarter and defended well, while Laboral scored only 9 points. That broke the game. We knew it would be a fight, as this team always plays hard; every single game, no matter what opponent they face. We knew we had a tough task. They have guys who can score baskets from pretty much every position. I think they rank second or third in the Euroleague in scoring. The most important thing was just to try to make it tough for them to make tough shots and tough plays. I think we did that. Every game in this group will be tough. We prepare for a fight every night and try to get more consistency playing tough in both leagues, VTB League and Euroleague. So we expect the best from everybody".

James Augustine, BC Khimki forward:

“It’s a great win for us, especially at home. They do a good job of scoring. I think they are one of the top Euroleague teams in scoring. We stopped them at 68 points. We just played well; our guards Shved and Rice played really well and we played hard on defense. We were scrambling and made pick-and-rolls and open shots. The rotation wasn’t very good, but we were playing hard. That helped us a lot".