Acting coach for BC Khimki, Russell BERGMAN said that after the game he didn’t look at the statistics, knowing only one statistic counts, and that is victory. All the players gave a good game, showing the kind of basketball that all coaches and fans want to see.

— We have undoubtedly happy the boys gave it their all in the offense. We didn’t focus too much on defense in the first 37 minutes of the match, but later the more than impressive advantage gave the boys a chance to let off a bit. They gave a good man on man defense, applying every indication given by the coaches. I want to highlight the player’s defensive moves and their rebounds. These allowed them to beat the tough Bulgarian team, who are doing very well in the cup. Moreover, they also were able to gain a decisive lead from early on in the first half of the game.

— The team accomplished the first task, which was to get to the second stage of the ULEB Cup. And now we have other issues to tend to on our agenda. We’ll start training for the tournament from the eliminatory phase, which kicks off in two week’s time. Until then, we have a trip to Samara for the National Championship for two games, and a match against Dynamo MR. We don’t have much time to train, but we have enough.

Could this change that occurred in the player’s battle-spirit and impetus have something to do with the change of the coach, or…?

— It's a combination of factors. The situation for the team is fairly complicated, there was no retreat. (Russell is probably unaware of the famous quote by the Russian General Klochkov in the war against Germany: “Russia is immense, there is no retreat; Moscow is behind us”). Defeat left us with practically no chance to continue the battle for the cup. Sergey Elevich built this locomotive that stays on the tracks already laid, no matter who the new head coach may be…

Oleg MELESCHENKO agrees with the coach’s point of view. He recognized that a game such as this one was a result of more than just the player’s dedication. The coach meticulously pieced together the opponent’s game, defining its strong and weak points. The coach admitted that, without a doubt, there was no time to develop new techniques for offense, but the players gave it their all, and their full dedication in the defense and rebounds, which can not be argued.

Russell, in the game against Academic, Pozzecco attempted only one basket, but had eight successful assists. Is that your same view regarding his role in the team?

— Marco did everything possible to help the team, and this translated into assisting his team mates score baskets. He –as all Khimki’s players — played for all the statistics, an in general resulted in an some excellent “duets.”

The coach for the Sofia club, Marin DOKUZOVSKI was a bit on the down side with the game results, and was able to muster a congratulations to Khimki for their victory, wishing them success in the playoffs. The Macedonian coach shared his thoughts, saying that this last game of the regular stage was the worst match his club has played in the ULEB Cup. For the first time in the tournament, coming up to halftime, Academic remained without a chance at success.

Day 10 Game Results

Group C

BC Khimki (Moscow Region, Russia) vs. Academic (Sofia, Bulgaria): 101-77 (29-14, 24-15, 22-16, 26-32)

Montepaschi (Siena, Italy) vs. Telindus (Oostende, Belgium): 73-62 (17-22, 21-14, 16-9, 19-17)

Hapoel (Jerusalem, Israel) vs. Alba (Berlin, Germany): 95-82 (22-26, 26-18, 21-25, 26-13)

Team Standings

Teams	W	L	Pts+/Pts-	GAF	P
1. Montepaschi	8	2	808/748	60	18
2. BC Khimki	5	5	866/835	31	15
3. Hapoel J	5	5	821/796	25	15
4. Alba	4	6	759/770	– 11	14
5. Academic	4	6	724/783	– 59	14
6. Telindus	4	6	741/787	– 46	14

Teams in bold have qualified for the next stage.


Group A

SLUG Nancy (France) vs. Hemofarm (Belgrade, Serbia): 89-81 (21-20, 18-23, 25-10, 25-28)

Lietuvos Rytas (Vilnius, Lithuania) vs. AEK (Athens, Greece): 86-80 (26-15, 26-16, 24-24, 10-25)

Brose (Bamberg, Germany) vs. Group Dunas (Great Canary, Spain): 70-58 (18-13, 15-17, 12-18, 25-10)

Lietuvos Rytas: 7 wins/3 losses; 17 points. Nancy: 7/3; 17. Hemofarm: 6/4; 16. Group Dunas: 5/5; 15. Brose: 3/7; 13. AEK: 2/8, 12.

Group B

BC Ventspils (Latvia) vs. Anwil (Wloclawek, Poland): 84-82 (23-18, 19-17, 19-27, 23-20)

FMP Zeleznik (Belgrade, Serbia) vs. Snaidero (Udine, Italy): 85-78 (21-17, 23-22, 22-17, 19-22)

Besiktas (Istambul, Turkey) vs. IG Strasbourg (France):80-88 (19-22, 15-25, 23-24, 23-17)

FMP: 8/2; 18. Ventspils: 7/3; 17. Strasbourg: 5/5; 15. Snaidero: 5/5; 15. Anwil: 3/7; 13. Besiktas: 2/8; 12.

Group D


UNICS (Kazan, Russia) vs. PAOK (Saloniki, Greece): 85-57 (20:20, 17:15, 24:15, 24:7)

Eiffel Towers (Den Bosch, Holland) vs. Crvena Zvezda (Belgrade, Serbia): 89:92 (16:29, 20:25, 23:16, 30:22)

Dexia (Mons Hainaut, Belgium) vs. Real (Madrid, Spain): 76-96 (19:28, 9:33, 20:17, 28:18)

Real: 7/3; 17. UNICS: 7/3; 17. Crvena Zvezda: 7/3; 17. PAOK: 6/4; 16. Eiffel Towers: 2/8; 12. Dexia: 1/9; 11.

The draw for the 1/8 finals will take place in Barcelona on Friday.