Perhaps in Spain, famous for its strong championship, there are fewer super clubs now than in the Russian super league. “Taugres” remains so even without injured Zoran Planinic and Sergi Vidal. The ex-New Jersey quarterback and reserve playmaker for the Spaniards are serious losses, but are they comparable to the absence of Lazaros Papadopoulos from Dynamo? By the way, the MVP of the previous Euroleague round, which received food poisoning on the eve, Lazar sat modestly to the side of the bench, and Dusan Ivkovich nodded at the yellowed face of the legionnaire: "He lost a few kilograms in a day. He would have to rest."
Who should replace Popadopoulos? Accustomed to a quick game without the Russian Greek “Dynamo” could once again be dispensed with a lightweight roster, but Ivkovich quite logically decided otherwise. To cope with the moving South American "double tower" of the Argentinean Luis Skola and the Brazilian Thiago Splitter is possible only with the help of the classic center.
It is a pity that the mascot of the blue and white Uncle Styopa is just a doll on stilts. It was necessary to see with what bewilderment the titled Skola met his appearance on the floor. In the game, the Argentine had to deal with an inferior anthropometric data, but clearly caught the courage of Obin Ekezi. The African center in the middle of the first quarter already had a couple of interceptions, block shots and goals from the game. The latter is most encouraging: the partners who had recently appeared in Moscow, the Nigerian, had previously feared giving passes under the shield, and Obinna himself was in no hurry to take the initiative. On Wednesday, Ekazi resembled the great compatriot Hakim Oladzhuvon, torturing rivals with feints, slam dunk and throwing throws.
If the Dynamo coped with the highly acclaimed Tiago over the ocean, the Turkish collection Kaya Peker picked up fouls ahead of time, but they did not come up with antidotes against the accustomed Skola. Yes, and Serkan Erdogan with Igor Rakochevich began to tear the Dynamo “zone” with long-range shots - only the Turkish defender in the first half realized 4 out of 6. One of them forced Ivkovic to ask for a timeout with a score of 19:29. Here, the coaches of the Russian club decided to return to the tried-and-true speed combination, and seated the experienced Eddie Gill, who played unsuccessfully on the defensive a couple of times, and exposed the Russian jokers Dmitry Khvostov and Sergey Monya. The first gave a couple of not childishly explanatory gears, and the second became the author of almost all the Dynamo key balls.
“Almost” implies the participation of Travis Hansen and Antonis Fotsis, who “slept” three and a half quarters, before undertaking to benefit the team. The brilliant segment, during which Monya threw the “three” and made two interceptions, and Fotsis got out from under the ring and from the perimeter, gave Dynamo great hope - 74:72. It would be possible to achieve more if Hansen and Gill did not get under block shots in three attacks, and at the last minute Monya waved a rebound on his shield into the hands of his opponents.
As a result, “Tau” found a hard worker Pridzhioni, who successfully pressed the Russian playmakers in the alien zone, intercepted, pashed, and threw the three, which became decisive, 1.09 before the siren. The Spaniards with incomprehensible composure finished off the opponent with penalties, not leaving the hosts the opportunity to cling to the result.
Nikolai TSYNKEVICH