The Lokomotiv Kuban point guard became the top scorer in the first game of the quarterfinals against Uralmash (97:65) – Patrick made 9 out of 10 shots from the field totalling 21 points.
- We saw two different Lokos that evening – one in the 1st half and quite another in the 2nd. Why?
- Defense, I think. In the 2nd half we switched our defensive playing, it helped, and we came out with the energy we needed to. So I think it was defense that got us going and then our offense got the click and we started playing faster.
- Was it a real playoff game?
- Yeah, it reminded me of last year when I got here and we played PARMA first round. High intensity, you know, Uralmash probably think they can beat us in this series. So it's on us to make a statement and show what we can do. Our job is to go out and dominate the game and I feel like we didn't want to show, you know, let up. So we kept playing hard. We want to make a statement every game. We're trying to win and we believe we can win the championship. Today was just the first step, we got a lot more work to do. This is just the first step, but we have to do it confidently.
- What play of today’s game is the most memorable for you?
- It was a good moment when Yelatontsev added the ball after the free throw. I think he stepped up and made some big plays for us today. When he plays like that, we are hard to beat. Him and Martyuk, you know, they complement each other. So we need him to play like that every game.
- How do you like the new kit?
- Well, I like them man. We always said we wanted black jerseys. So that was a great surprise for us. I'm glad we were able to start with the win in those jerseys. You know, they say, you look good – you play good.
- Did you feel any special support from the fans, especially in the first quarter when the game wasn't going well?
- We feel the fans, so I'm glad we were able to get the win for them. The energy was great on a Tuesday. So Thursday I hope they come back again, because we need it, it really helps us in the game.
- Что самое главное нужно сделать перед следующим матчем?What is the main thing for the team to do right now?
- Watch film and learn from our mistakes and stuff we can use to enhance in game 2. Then – recover and know that game 2 is going to be harder than tonight. We didn't do anything yet, but just one game and we got a lot more work to do. So we need to refocus and keep playing as a team and I think we're going to do that. Now we've got the momentum on our side, we did what we were supposed to do. Now we've got to keep it up.
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