Eurocup. BC Khimki vs Lukoil Academic26 november 2013

BC Khimki made another confident step towards Eurocup Last 32, having defeated at home Lukoil Academic Sofia — 83-55 (25-11, 15-10, 17-22, 26-12). The next game our team will play on the road on Sunday, December 1, 2013 with BC Tsmoki-Minsk. The beginning of the meeting is at 17.30 msk.

Best scorers: Davis (20 + 7 rebounds), Koponen (16 + 8 assists), Augustine (10 + 8 rebounds), Gelabale (10).

Rimas Kurtinaitis, BC Khimki head coach:

— We prepared seriously for this game as we knew that after changing its head coach, Lukoil Academic scored two important Eurocup victories in a row being aggressive. We were aware, but I’m very happy for our guys, as from day to day we play better as a team, despite some small breakdowns during the game. We managed to reduce the number of turnovers, and made 28 assists which is a great stat.

Petteri Koponen, BC Khimki guard:

— We played very good defense in the beginning of the game and allowed our opponent to score only 21 points in the first half. We also had good plays on offense, but I suppose today it was a matter of defense that helped us do a good job. We are a better team, we showed that today, but you have to play with heart and be focused to use your advantage.

Dimitrios Galanis, Lukoil Academic head coach:

— Khimki gave us a good lesson today, especially in the first half. Now I can say that, compared to the start of the season, it is another team that improved. It has experienced players and when you play here, in Khimki, it’s a big challenge for everybody. We were not good in the first half, but we had our goals, especially on offense, as we played aggressively against Khimki players. After the big break, we played simply and won the third quarter. At the end, we became tired and put some new players on the court.

Alando Tucker, Lukoil Academic forward:

— It was a very hard road game as we knew Khimki is like a Euroleague team. It’s hard to make mistakes against a team like this, as you will be punished. Our main goal is to advance to the next Eurocup round. We are working on this right now. There are some more games to be played, and we still have chances.