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Spartak much worse than previous seasons, Turks better composed than last year

Coach Kandemir put together a team whose leaders are play-maker Perkins and phenomenal outside shooter Chris Lofton. They play good defense and altogether faster than last season

Besiktas is starting Eurocup Group H with a lot of optimism after a good opening of the season. First they secured a place in Cup quarterfinals, with a defeat in match against champions Galatasaray, and then last weekend easily scored the win at the start of the championship. The group they are in is considered the weakest (Bisons, Neptunas, Panionios, Radnicki), and they can rightly count on one of the top three spots to make the second round where they will play the teams eliminated from Euroleague. So they have many quality games guaranteed.

- We want to advance from the group, and for that we need to win all the games at home. Spartak is one of them. I think they are one of the strongest teams in the group - says coach Ahmet Kandemir.

At the start of the championship they struggled against newcomers Selcuk in the league, lost the first period 19-14, but when they started rebounding better (50-25 overall), it was far easier. With that came confidence and precision. Their three-point percentage was unreal, 52.3% (11/21). We said Besiktas could play faster this season, and in that kind of game point guard Doron Perkins and deadly scorer Lofton, who scored 23 on Selcuk with 9/13 shooting, will dominate.

- It is always difficult at the beginning of the season. In the first period we were under pressure, had many turnovers. After that we played a lot faster and scored a deserved victory - said coach Ahmet Kandemir.

Due to the limit on the number of foreigners, he did not use Kevin Foster in the league. 23-year-old point guard comes from the University of Santa Clara and last season in the NCAA had 17.9 points and 4.4 assists per game.

- Depending on his performance, we will decide whether we will use him in the league - announced Kandemir, who is known for his eye for talent (he brought Neal, McCalebb, and Domercanto to Europe).

St. Petersburg team enters the new season with many doubts. Major financial problems caused radical changes and in came Gundars Vetra who had experience working with young Russian players at Primorje. However, the pressure was smaller there. Spartak St. Petersburg is big name in Europe, but this season the results will be worse than we are accustomed.

The first game in Donetsk showed many weaknesses. Defense failed to stop shooting-crazy Ukrainian team, while for Spartak only Bertt (19 points, 8/15 shooting) and Homan (14 points, 6/12 shooting) played well on offense. McGrath was active; he was trying, but sometimes wanted too much. For 12 points he took 16 shots, had only one assists and that is not the way Spartak should play. Host gave Spartak a lesson in team play (25 assists). Add to this Spartak's inferiority in rebounds (28-38), and the defeat was inevitable.

- Donetsk outplayed us totally. We could not deal with them in defense. That looked much worse than expected and what we want the team to play. It reminded us of the worst games of the preseason - Vetra said after the game.

- It is embarrassing to start the season with a defeat. Today, much of our game was not good, in offense and defense. We allowed many easy points and struggled with their centers, while on offense we missed too many open shots - added Nesterov.

The drawback could be the lack of diversity in the game. Spartak had 65 shots, the American trio (Bertt, McGrath, Homan) took 41 of those, and the other two members of the starting  five, Yakovenko and Korolev, six. Others had little opportunity to show what they can do. Spartak does not have enough good players.

- We spoke with Russian players and told them they must be more committed. Today, when foreign players sat out, we looked bad on the court. However, they cannot play all the time, they need to rest, and the other players have to contribute. As long as we do not find a balance, we will not make progress - added Vetra.

Mitigating circumstance for Spartak in the Eurocup is a softer group that opens the possibility for advancement. However, the competition starts with one of the more difficult games, a visit to Turkey, and that will be a major challenge for these young players.

After the match in Donetsk, special emphasis was put on a better play on defense. In the previous season, Spartak was a team much more committed to that part of the game, and when key players left, that become even more important. Vetra does not have a potent offensive team and can hardly seek success in a high scoring match, especially against stronger teams. The only question is whether this team has enough quality and responsibility to do the work on defense.

From last season's Spartak all that remained is the name. Great financial problems have led the main players away from the club and now players like Bertt and Homan are having the spotlight. There is a great imbalance between the American and the Russian part of the team. Vetra has a shallow depth chart and 6-7 players that he can seriously rely on. game preview statement is very telling, he said that Besiktas is the stronger team and between the lines you can read that his team will hardly have a chance for a win. Besiktas has reinforced, the Turkish sides are always stronger on the home court and Besiktas is no exception. I think that this away game is harder than the Donetsk one a few days ago, and there Spartak had no chances finishing with -18. Tonight I expect another defeat in the double digits.