OUR OPPONENT

BANVIT BANDIRMA (TURKEY)

Founded in 1994
Team colors: orange, green and white
Honors: Turkish Basketball League semifinalist (2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014), Turkish Basketball League finalist (2013), Turkish Basketball Cup funalist (2007, 2012), Turkish Basketball League regular season winner (2014), Eurocup semifinalist (2015)
Arena: Kara Ali Acar Sport Hall (capacity – 3000)
President: Özkan Kılıç
Official website: www.banvitbasketbol.com

PRE-GAME QUOTES

Rimas Kurtinaitis, BC Khimki head coach:

"We are going into Eurocup semifinals action and there are no weak teams here as each squad deserved its performance in this stage. The fact that Banvit has never come that far in the competition means nothing: it won’t settle down and will try to beat us. We know how tough it is to play in Turkey and I can say that each team has equal chances on the road: 50 to 50. Banvit is a good team and I have seen several games. We know their main scoring players in Rowland, Mejia and Davis. They have good energy and the game will be tough but, above all, I think about my guys and my team. We have caught the required spirit of the game playing quite good against as strong as not very powerful teams. So there are no exclusive things here as we are preparing for this matchup as usual".

Paul Davis, BC Khimki center:

"It will be another important game for us. If we follow our game plan and play as we have done during last month we’ll have pretty good chances to have a good game and come back here with a little bit lead. However, I’m sure that the crowd will be a big support for them and it’s gonna be a tough game but we need to concentrate on our plan. Obviously, Banvit made it far in the tournament and they play well as a team making many one-on-one plays. They have a good home court advantage but we go to Turkey for one reason – just to win it like in Valencia. All the guys are ready".