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Akasvayu Girona
Head Coach
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MARTINEZ, PEDRO
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"It was a game as we expected, which is to say difficult for us. In the first half, Unics dominated the rhythm and played as they wanted, with long possessions that were not comfortable for us. They had a lot, I would say too many, offensive rebounds, and those led to easy baskets. In the second half, we were able to correct that problem and from there we got control of the game. In the third quarter, Arriel McDonald managed to change the momentum by hitting some big shots, and then with the help of his teammates we were able to keep control. Arriel is a player with a competitive spirit, and today he showed that. We are hoping that in a competition like this, almost without any rest, which is very tough for everyone, that each day we will have players who play above their normal level. I'm not saying a lot above their normal level, but a little. Today, Arriel has been that player, but I am sure that tomorrow they'll plan a defense to stop him. I think we are a good team and we have to come up with other options from among our other players."
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Akasvayu Girona
Center
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GASOL, MARC
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"Our defense in the second half was one of the keys. We’ve been patient and played a good game, especially in that second half. The first half, we didn’t play good defense, but in the second half we did and that pushed us to the win. Dynamo is a very experienced team with a lot of experienced players, probably a bigger team. But we know how to attack their defense because we've known that defense for a long time. We have to be patient and move the ball around while playing the same defense as we did against Unics. We want to play in the final, and we'll see what happens tomorrow. We definitely want to be in the final, so for that we have to win tomorrow."
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Akasvayu Girona
Guard
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MCDONALD, ARRIEL
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I feel really good right now because we did have a lot of respect for Unics. We knew they were a very good and a very strong team. It shows that now we are starting to improve our quality and we did an excellent job to win the game tonight. The biggest thing that we talked about at halftime was offensive rebounding and trying to stop them from getting easy baskets. We did that in the second half, enough to win the game. I enjoy these kinds of situations a little. It's kind of funny because after a while you get used to it and then you don't have nerves anymore. It's almost like any other game. These kinds of games are good for me, good for my head, and I enjoy playing them. We have a lot of motivation to play against Dynamo because we're playing against our former coach from last season. We know they're a big club, they have a lot of pressure, they've got to win. Finally, for once in my career, I can play the underdog. I'm liking that."
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Akasvayu Girona
Guard
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SADA, VICTOR
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"Always that I play a game I go for the win and today was no exception. The rebounds? It's a matter of going for the ball and a little luck. Of course, if you play many minutes you also have more possibilities to get one. Today I was not well in offense but I shared the ball and the team was comfortable with that. I think we have to improve the free throws which could have been a bad thing for us, but in the end we managed to pull it off. Tomorrow we have another game and I hope it will be better than tonight's."
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Akasvayu Girona
Forward
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SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO
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"The game was close almost all the way until the end of the last quarter but in the final minutes we managed to get the lead that allows you to play with more head and do things as they are supposed to. The game against Dynamo should be a fun game against one of the favorites to win this competition. We have to try to do our thing and see if we manage to get the win."
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Akasvayu Girona
Forward
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CVETKOVIC, BRANKO
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"The game was so close, it was hard to get the win. Everybody stepped up to win this one because we certainly didn't win it because of good play. I mean we played well but we won thisone with heart. We can play much better than this and I hope tomorrow we will play more relaxed. Now we have to play Dynamo Moscow. We'll see what happens but they are favorite on paper. If we play like we can like we normally play in the Spanish League I think we can beat them. For sure I know they will have a strong motivation and that they have big names. They will fight. I don't know what the outcome will be but we surely can expect a big fight."
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Unics Kazan
Head Coach
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PETROVIC, ACO
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"First, congratulations to Girona. They really played well, above all in the third quarter, when the game was decided. We defended badly against the pick-and-roll and situations in the low post. We had a couple chances to get closer in the last quarter, but we missed too many open shots and were unable to reduce the advantage that Girona got. It's a pity that Lavrinovic wasn't able to play today. I don't say we would have won with him, but we would have had more options if Lavrinovic had played and more chances to win. But when a team plays a real tough game as Girona did, what can you do against that? I'd like to congratulate Girona again, and would like to congratulate the organization of these quarterfinals. Our team couldn't have hoped for anything better in terms of organization, so thank you again for this quarterfinal in Turin."
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Unics Kazan
Guard
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MCCULLOUGH, JERRY
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"I think we could have won but with his absence we tried to do different things and it didn't work out. Arriel McDonald played well but We helped them with our turnovers. I don't think he did anything special because he is a great player, but we just had many turnovers and they took advantage of it."
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Unics Kazan
Guard
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PADIUS, NIKOLAY
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"We made too many mistakes tonight, especially in offense. The Final Eight is a good idea, something new and exciting. Of course, I will never forget the ULEB Cup final I played with Aris in Charleroi. It was unbelievable and it will always stay in my mind. We prepared the game well but we didn't manage to execute well. I hope we can use this as a lesson. We have a very important game for the third spot in the Russian League regular season. The sooner we forget about this, better for us."
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Unics Kazan
Center
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STANESCU, VIRGIL
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"We prepared the game knowing that Darjus Lavrinovic may not play. We tried different things but didn't work out. You cannot be satisfied when you make it to
the Final Eight and get out of the tournament in the first game. That was our goal, winning the game. Of course, we did a good job to make it to the Final
Eight and come here but unfortunately we couldn't make it further."
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Unics Kazan
Forward
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KIRKSAY, TARIQ
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"It was a difficult game because our big men got into foul trouble very early. We played to play small ball, playing with two power forwards. They did a good
job against that and offensively, we did too many one-on-ones. Our offense was not very fluent. I took responsabilities but I didnp't help my team they way I
am supposed to. We missed Darjus Lavrinovic and he might have made the difference, because we had aproblems with just three big men. We missed him a lot of
time throughout the season. Our big men did a good job, I think, but got in foul trouble and that's a part of the game. They kept fighting and we didn't get
them the ball to get Marc Gasol in foul trouble. We looked like the team we were in the beginning of the year, trying to find ourselves. I think we were more
prepared for the game that we showed."
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