Eurocup. BC Khimki vs. Banvit 8 april 2015

In a decisive semifinal clash ‪BC Khimki‬ clinched a paramount win over Banvit Bandirma — 93-89 (20-15, 22-20, 23-25, 28-29), and entered Eurocup finals! In the final series our club will face Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas! The next game BC Khimki will play at home on Saturday, April 11 vs. Enisey. The beginning is at 17.00 msk.

BC Khimki: Rice (28 + 4 assists), Davis (16 + 6 rebounds + 4 assists), Monya (14 + 5 assists + 3 rebounds + 2 blocks), Augustine (8 + 9 rebounds + 3 assists + 3 blocks), Vyaltsev (7 + 3 assists + 2 steals), Honeycutt (6 + 9 rebounds), Pateev (6 + 3 rebounds), Koponen (5 + 4 assists + 3 rebounds), Sheleketo (3), Popovic, Ilnitsky.

POST-GAME QUOTES

Selcuk Ernak, Banvit Bandirma head coach:

"First of all I would like to say congratulations to Khimki and wish them good luck in the finals. They are a great team and they deserved to win today. Secondly I want to thank all my players who made this journey in the Eurocup really valuable and made history for the club by qualifying first to the eighthfinals and then to the quarterfinals".

Rimas Kurtinaitis, BC Khimki head coach:

"First of all I want to thank all my guys, especially those who played with huge injuries and helped us as they could. We had problems with Popovic, Koponen and Honeycutt, but they did a really great job tonight. Before the game I felt like a schoolboy who didn’t do his homework and had to answer the next day in front of the teacher. I’m happy for those who carried the responsibility and played such a tough game. We could have played better in the end, because you don’t have the right to relax and must be concentrated for all 40 minutes, not 39. So now our main task is to recover our injured players and go further. We haven’t achieved anything so far, the toughest games are ahead”.

Sergey Monya, BC Khimki forward:

“It was hard to play as we have many injured players in the team. So I’m happy for the guys who, despite all the troubles, stood on the floor and played how they could. The win is twice as pleasing when you have such problems. Now we have time to get some treatment, as we prepare for the upcoming VTB League games and the Eurocup Finals. The first game in Turkey gave us huge opportunity for reflection because we lost only 1 point and didn’t make many open shots. Banvit plays great at home, but we made our analysis after the first game and played well tonight. The main point is the win for us. I’m happy that we are going to the finals”.

Paul Davis, BC Khimki center:

“It was a tough game as Banvit hit the same shots they did in Turkey. They have good players and sometimes made shots we couldn’t, so we were very close. They are a lot better team than I thought they were. Both teams wanted to win as it was basically one game and practically it was tied. It’s like what people saw in the NCAA tournament when nobody wants to go home. Each team played hard, but we were able to build the lead and keep it. Now our goal is to win the Eurocup. We need to follow our game plan as this is the very thing we have been working for since August. We will be ready”.