VTB United League. BC Khimki vs. Lokomotiv 1 may 2016

BC Khimki started VTB United League play-offs series with a huge home win over PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban Krasnodar — 86-80 (18-28, 24-13, 23-19, 21-20) with 31 pts by Rice and 26 pts by Shved. Game 2 will be played on Sunday, May 3, 2016 at 18.30 msk. Don't miss!

BC Khimki: Rice (31 + 3 assists), Shved (26 + 6 assists + 2 blocks), Koponen (9), Honeycutt (8 + 10 rebounds + 4 assists + 3 steals + 2 blocks), Dragic (5), Monya (3 + 7 rebounds + 5 assists + 2 blocks), Boone (2), Ilnitsky (2), Vyaltsev.

Post-game quotes

Dusko Ivanovic, BC Khimki head coach:

"It was a very tough game. We knew that we were playing against one of the top teams in Europe this season and a Euroleague Final Four participant. Our opponent is very good on defense, shows patience, and can execute with precision, which is tough to counter. I think we had too much respect for our visitors at the start of the game, but in the second quarter we changed our mentality and began playing better on defense. We found opportunities for easy shots and played with more urgency. In the end, this evenly-matched battle was essentially decided by one defensive possession and shot".