March 1, 2011 : Fiiiiiiiiiinal Four 2011!!!! :-)

Recently ended the quarter of the Euroleague. Our team, after a difficult series with the Italians in 1 / 8, we met with Fenerbahce, the Turkish club in fourth. Because of the results of the regular phase, we have not had the advantage, so the first match in the semi-finals took place in Istanbul. It should be noted that this season has played Fenerbahce in great confidence: it is the only club that has not suffered a single defeat in the Euroleague - before we met. Incidentally, in a preliminary stage in Group B, the Turkish team beat UMMC twice. So I think that many are convinced that our team will also lose this series.

But anyway, we never lose hope, and we took very seriously the preparation of this fight. In Istanbul, our opponent immediately put Yilmaz and Matovich in confidence.
We do not have enough confidence in attack and aggressive defense. Imagine, after the first quarter, we were at -13, and after the second one - 16 points!

Without the 3rd 1 / 4 time e Fenerbahce took the game up, looking relaxed in anticipation of a simple end the game. But we were there! From the first seconds we have the speed to put more pressure on defense. The Turkish center stayed on the field almost the entire game without substitution, so that fatigue eventually be felt, and have spent their strength in the attack, which has allowed our "great" to take over under the panels. Then we put a wall in defense, the Turkish were under pressure and could not score from a distance. At the end of the match when the score gap has decreased significantly, Laszlo Radgeber put pressure on all the court but this strategy has worked in our favor, and we managed it very well.

When the final whistle sounded, the fans of the local club rushed to the field and the situation was very tense! Only by protecting the president we have managed to run out of the room and escape the wrath of spectators...

The next day we returned to Moscow and began to prepare for the rematch. We wanted to win at home in front of our fans, but everyone knew that Turkey would come to take revenge. After analyzing the shortcomings committed in the first game, we changed tactics, and it really helped. I thought the second game would be more difficult and Fenerbahce will show all their strengths, but for myself and everyone that was a surprise, the Turkish did not show great qualities of fighting, and we managed to maintain a big advantage from the beginning to the end of the game.
Our team once again proved to everyone that it was too early to stop there! and that despite all the problems and failures, we can show a good game and get good results.

Thank you to all those who believed in us and supported our team! Rendez-vous to the Final Four!

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