By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow knew what they had to do and in the end prevailed with 80-65 over Darussafaka without feeling any real pressure. The fact that Sergio Rodriguez was ejected from the game in the last quarter was probably the most noteworthy thing that happened.
Before that, the Spaniard scored 11 points and dished six assists in 20 minutes of action, while Nando De Colo with 17 points was once more CSKA‘s top scorer. Cory Higgins with 13 and Kyle Hines with 10 points also did their part.
CSKA got the early 25-16 lead at the first quarter and never looked back, keeping the hosts to a distance and building even a 19 points advantage (75-56).
Kartal Ozmizrak with 13 points was the only player of the hosts who scored in double digits. CSKA defense dictated the pace and despite making just two threes out of 14 attempts, the Army Team shot with 71,4% efficiency in two-pointers (30/42).
As CSKA coach Dimitris Itoudis said: “Even though we didn’t shot particularly well from distance, we had 70% on two-pointers. In this case, I was quite satisfied with our shots. I’m sure Alec, Nando, Will, everyone else’s shots will fall in the future. Now we have to return home, relax and prepare for the game against Maccabi“.
CSKA remained in the third place of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings with a 13-4 record, while the hosts are in the last spot with 2-15. Still, coach Selcuk Ernak was happy from the level of effort that his players demonstrated: “I want to express my satisfaction with the effort that my team showed. I want my Turkish players to feel like the owner of the team because next season we will build the team around them. In the first 5 minutes of the first quarter and the third quarter, our experienced players did not fully develop the strategy we had set for the game. The game was opened up there and CSKA Moscow played a very high level and when we fall back, we find it difficult to return.”
Photo credit: EuroLeague