This is what the protagonists had to say after the Round 20 showdown between AS Monaco and UNICS Kazan.
Post-game quotes: Monaco vs. UNICS
Sasa Obradovic, AS Monaco head coach
"Of course, I’m happy. We lost a lot of games like this at the end, even recently against Real Madrid in two overtimes. We could finish what was in our hands today. We were more lucky and I would say great win. The hope is still there. We dream about top eight, but the best opponents are coming, so we should be ready.”
Velimir Perasovic, UNICS Kazan head coach
“Congratulations to Monaco. In the end we had our opportunity, but I think Mike James made a very tough shot and he won the game. All game we had problems with turnovers, 17 turnovers for this kind of game is too much. And also offensive rebounds, which Monaco took, especially in the last quarter decided the game. We fought, we got close, but it is not enough.”
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Mike James, AS Monaco guard
“A win always feels good, but we have a long road ahead of us. We can’t really be satisfied. We have another game on Friday and we gotta win. [UNICS is] good. They’re gonna be fighting for the playoffs all year, so we knew they weren’t gonna just go away without a fight. They play hard. We got open looks, we just kinda missed. We played together. I think we played a good game today.”
Donatas Motiejunas, AS Monaco center
“We kind of lost our game plan in the end, especially the end of the fourth quarter. Our plan was to not let them shoot those open threes in transition and match up with them quickly, but like you saw, they made all those shots and the game came to the wire. Great job by Mike James scoring the last basket and winning the game for us.”