By Aris Barkas
Andrei Kirilenko could be in the NBA right now, but he chose to stay in CSKA Moscow and he is still ahead of the pack in Euroleague. In last night’s win against Bilbao (79-60) the Russian star had one more stellar performance.
He had a season-high 20 points on 4/6 two point and 9/12 free throw shooting. He added 12 rebounds, 2 blocks and 9 fouls drawn for a performance index rating of 31, the best among all players in Game 2 of the play offs.
He is just the third player to win the weekly MVP honor of the Euroleague three times in one season. He was also the MVP of the month October and of course he is the main candidate for the MVP trophy of the season.
And don’t you think that the game against Bilbao was easy. CSKA‘s coach Jonas Kazlauskas said in the official Press conference: “The opponent chose the only way that could have led to success. It was not basketball; it was something else. There were so many provocations and unsportsmanlike fouls, that we lost count. It is very difficult to deal with it. I am thankful to Bilbao for this kind of physical game. It is necessary to understand what to expect in future. It was important for us to feel nervous, to fight, not to respond to provocations, to show our character. We have to learn to be ready for this kind of game.”
The Moscow’s team seems to be ready. After all CSKA is leading the play offs series 2-0 and is just one W away from the Final Four.