Daniil Aksenov: “We were so happy that we didn’t even believe we won”

Astana point guard Daniil Aksenov spoke out after the home victory over Avtodor.

“First, victory is victory. We all, including management, fans, our families, and everyone in general, were really looking forward to this because it is psychologically tricky after defeats, especially when you lose by -20, or -30. We are very happy.

Honestly, we were so happy in the locker room that we could hardly believe that we had finally won. And as for misses of free throws in the end, I didn’t have this before because, and generally, I've had a high percentage in my entire career, but in this case, it was the fact that the victory was so close. I think Vadim Shcherbak, who also tried to score, was a little nervous. But we won, and now everyone is happy that they did a great job.

Yes, if we scored free or easy points, we would have won +5, and it would have been calmer, but such endings are also needed, because this is an experience for the players and the coaching staff. And for the fans, this is such an adrenaline rush; I think they have not experienced such emotions for a long time. I congratulate everyone on the victory!