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Basketball-No pressure to vanquish Istanbul ghosts, says Kirilenko

By Zoran Milosavljevic MADRID, May 14 (Reuters) - A dramatic defeat in the Euroleague's 2012 final by Olympiakos Piraeus will not haunt CSKA when the two teams clash in the 2015 semi on Friday, the Russian side's pack leader Andrei Kirilenko said. The 34-year-old forward, who spent most of his career in the NBA including a 2001-2011 spell with the Utah Jazz, returned from the Brooklyn Nets in February for his third stint at CSKA in a bid to capture the elusive trophy in Europe's premier club competition. Kirilenko pointed out that looking back at their 2012 fiasco -- when they lost 62-61 following a buzzer-beating hook-shot by Olympiakos forward Georgios Printezis -- could only be detrimental to CSKA's hopes of winning their seventh Euroleague title. "I have played so many games in the NBA and my time there has taught me one thing: win or lose you have to move on," he told reporters ahead of Thursday's practice. "If we could erase our lives and start over there are lot of things I would probably change but the bottom line is I wouldn't do it because a perfect life without a learning process would be uninteresting. "There is always going to be a next event and we are focused on this one because we have worked hard the whole season to be here. "Of course we would like to win it and it would mean a lot to me but the other three teams have the same ambition. "Tiny off-court details may decide who wins, like who sleeps well and who doesn't before the game." Hosts Real Madrid, aiming to win their ninth title and the first since 1995, clash with dark horses Fenerbahce Istanbul in the other semi. Still in impeccable physical shape and on top of his game, the athletic Kirilenko ruled out a return to the NBA after twice moving from CSKA across the Atlantic. "Yes," he said when asked whether he would spend the rest of his career with the Russian giants, whose talent-packed outfit includes former Toronto raptors forward Sonny Weems, Serbia playmaker Milos Teodosic and France guard Nando De Colo. "I am very happy with my career already and the most important thing is that when it's over you can look back at it with happy memories knowing that you have done your best." (Editing by Pritha Sarkar)