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Minsk-2006 end EuroChallenge campaign with win over Amsterdam

Basketball team Minsk-2006 ended their EuroChallenge campaign with a 67-64 win over Amsterdam at the Palace of Sport in Minsk on January 12.

The victory over the Dutch team allowed Minsk-2006 to finish third in their four-team group of Europe's basketball tournament.

"The two teams vying for the third place wanted to end the qualifying stage of the tournament as well as possible, to avoid finishing bottom of the group," Minsk-2006 coach Andrey Kryvanos said at a post-game news conference.

"The game showed that our players were probably overmotivated, were a bit constrained and as a result did not score the points that they could score. It was a nervous game and the result was unclear until the final buzzer. We must take credit for being the better team in the closing minutes of the game," he said.

Minsk-2006 captain Alyaksandr Kul acknowledged that some players of the Belarusian team had failed to find a rhythm against Amsterdam. "They had shooting errors, assist turnovers, but the final score is the result of each player who was on court doing his utmost. Thus, everyone made a small contribution to the result. We have proved that we can play on such a level," he said.

Minsk-2006 also beat Amsterdam in the Netherlands, but suffered home and away defeats at the hands of Russia's Krasnyye Krylya and Italy's Scavolini.