When the famous Turkish coach Aydin Ors decided to take the first time out, the score could not be called critical (12: 5), but the initiative was held tight in the hands of Muscovites - you won’t be able to rip out the pliers. On the account of Theo Papaloukas by that time there were already three assists, two of which ended with slam dunks of David Andersen and Nikita Kurbanov. Ors will later tell that the situation around Flounder has broken the morale of Istanbul. But the matter was, rather, in the material plane: the guests who were swinging the body of the Latvian center under their own ring were desperately lacking. And well, experienced Andersen and Aleksey Savrasenko would use standard tweens. The young Anatoly Kashirov began to act in exactly the same way, whom Ettore Messina sent to “fishlessness” without undue fear. At that moment, even the hope of the Russian youth was a formidable force.
The match could become Toli’s benefit, which partners would love to play if not for a few unpleasant moments. Firstly, he himself took away two points, hovering on the bow after a greased dunk and forcing the judges not to count the ball that fell into the basket. Secondly, he knocked the ball out of his own ring through the net below. Thirdly, in the second quarter, greased 6 of 6 penalties. Kashirov appeared on the floor long before the end of the big break and, encouraged by the fans, sent a dozen free throws in a row. It became clear: Anatoly’s hand is still soft - the problem is “in the head”. “Kashirov made a mistake once, twice, and nervous tension began to build up in a snowball,” Messina explained the nuances of youthful psychology. And in the third quarter he left the giant on the bench.
By that time, the Turks made the audience a little nervous, reducing the backlog to "-5". And Messina decided on a couple of non-standard moves. Firstly, I used an absolutely non-Russian version of the composition (except for John Holden), and secondly, I experimented with the “zone”, according to the Italian, it’s not perfect for CSKA. It was easy to break the guests' resistance, and Anton Ponkrashov, who appeared on the floor, (his coach praised him for his sensible decision-making both in defense and in attack) made the difference “crushing” - 17 points.
After that, only small episodes began to occupy the audience. For example, will any ex-army player Mirsad Turkan score any points? And in the meaningless fourth period, the striker scored as many as three goals. Cheered for Papaloukas, clearly tuned to the title of best in the Euroleague in assists. The wise Greek betrayed such passes, after which it was a sin to smear. The result - 12 “assists” and a well-deserved first place at the end of Wednesday's matches (we will wait for the performance of the Argentine virtuoso from “Tau” Pablo Prigioni on Thursday). Finally, they worried about David Vanterpool, who healed the injury for almost three weeks. The American supported a friend and colleague Papaloukas, noting seven accurate programs.
To be completely happy, the triumphs of the Euroleague regular season are left with Matyaz Smodis, who turned his foot up a week ago, seriously. Messina suggested that the Slovenian will start basketball training on Thursday and, if the recovery continues at the same pace, on Sunday will help the army team “on the road” to Krylatskoye - in the Super League match with Moscow Dynamo.
Nikolai TSYNKEVICH