Visit to the den of the infuriated grand 8 december 2010

On Wednesday BC Khimki went to the Basque city Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain where on Thursday out club will play a crucial game with Caja Laboral for the entrance to the TOP 16. The beginning of the meeting is at 22.45 Moscow time. Live broadcast of the match you may watch at NTV-PLUS SPORT.


EXCHANGE OF OPINIONS

Thomas Kelati:

– It will be a big and a very important game for us. Right now we are in a good mood: the team managed to score two wins. Caja Laboral lost last five games and it is not normal for the team like that to lose five in succession so this meeting is very significant for them too. We have a good chance and if we do that it will be a tough proud for us. This match will be absolutely decisive one. Everybody knows: if we win we’ll make a great step towards TOP 16 – we are 100 percent motivated. Well-organized defense and high concentration will be the key factors that can predetermine the outcome. Moreover we should play fast, try to avoid turnovers and show smart basketball; the pattern is the recent game with Partizan. Caja Laboral is a very good team at the top of the Spanish League and it can surprise us. But we will be ready to give battle and our main aim is only victory. The most dangerous Caja’s player is Teletovic. He’s a great scorer and the key man for the Spaniards. If we can suppress him we won’t have many troubles.

Keith Langford:

– Last successful games gave strength to our team. Everyone knows that both us and Caja Laboral are making a big push now for the Top 16. It's going to be fun, because both teams are going to play hard. I remember the last year when BC Khimki was able to win a Top 16 game in Vitoria. Now we have key guys who are not with the same teams, so there are new players and new roles for some others. In that sense, it'll be a totally different matchup. We are in a position to control our destiny now. The key point is to finish the game well. This year, we've done really well by starting games strong with the exception of the Maccabi game. I think that if we just finish the last five minutes of the game better, it will be a big factor for us.

Last season, BC Khimki and Caja Laboral played in the TOP-16. The teams exchanged by victories on the road — in Vitoria-Gasteiz BC Khimki won 81-72, but in Russia lost 83-94. This season our club already played with the Spaniards: on November, 3 at home BC Khimki won 64-60.

VISITING CARD

Caja Laboral Baskonia (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain)

Founded: 1959
History: C.D. Basconia (1959–1983), Caja Alava (1983–1986), Taugres Baskonia/Tau Ceramica Baskonia (1986–2009), Caja Laboral Baskonia (2009–Present)
Arena: Fernando Buesa Arena (capacity: 9,900)
Team colors: White, Red, Dark Blue
President: Jose Antonio Querejeta
Head coach: Duško Ivanović
Titles
Spanish Championships: 3 (2002, 2008, 2010)
Spanish Cups: 6 (1995, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009)
Saporta Cup: 1 (1996)
Spanish Supercups: 4 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Website: baskonia.com

EUROLEAGUE 2010/2011 RESULTS

Game 1. October, 21.
Caja Laboral — Maccabi T-A — 94-78

Game 2. October, 27.
Asseco Prokom — Caja Laboral — 73-80

Game 3. November, 3.
BC Khimki — Caja Laboral — 64-60

Game 4. November, 10.
Caja Laboral — Zalgiris — 88-92

Game 5. November, 17.
Partizan mt:s — Caja Laboral — 74-71

Game 6. November, 25.
Maccabi Electra — Caja Laboral — 81-70

Game 7. December, 1.
Caja Laboral — Asseco Prokom — 75-81

TEAM ROSTER
№    PlayerPosition Height   Birthday   Nationality
4Pau RibasGuard1931987Spain
6Ander GarcíaGuard1921989Spain
9Marcelinho HuertasGuard1901983Italy
10David LoganGuard1841982Poland/USA
12Mirza TeletovicForward2061985Bosnia
15Dejan MusliCenter    2121991Serbia
19Fernando San Emeterio  Guard1991984Spain
22Marcus HaislipForward2071980USA
24Brad OlesonGuard1911983USA/Spain
42Stanko BaracCenter2171986Croatia
44Nemanja BjelicaForward2091988Serbia