Khimki’s win over Real Madrid didn’t surprise me at all

I didn’t bet on Khimki that’s true, but I always thought they have a chance against Real Madrid in this encounter. The Spanish powerhouse was coming to Moscow with the roster shortened by injuries. Even in these special circumstances, Real Madrid had a deep rotation because their bench is extremely large. On the other side Khimki kept only 2 foreigners from the whole initial roster full of mercenaries they had during the season. These 2 guys plus Alexey Shved were enough to shut down the visitors, which proved two theories:

that local players can do a good job on the court and normally we cannot see their real value because the Euroleague teams are signing too many foreigners each season instead of promoting their home-grown players

even the worst underdog with the roster decimated by absentees can surprise a great team like Real Madrid. The European competition is full of unexpected results and if the odd is huge it had to be taken. Almost nobody would have believed that Khimki can do it, maybe not even themselves, but the key is to try it!

The Russian team proved an amazing defense provoking the Spaniards a big number or turnovers and this was a very important factor in the economy of the game. Then, Khimki Moscow Region had the best 3 scorers of the game Errick McCollum, Alexey Shved, both with 22 points while Jordan Mickey had 19.

Image: EuroLeague