Andrei Kirilenko, Alexey Shved, Sony Weems, DeJuan Collins: Top players from Euroleague opener
On October 17, at the Zalgirio Arena, CSKA Moscow cruised past Zalgiris Kaunas with an impressive 87-74 victory in the first game of the 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season. The Russian Champions headed all four quarters of the game and after facing some resistance in the second quarter, blew away in the second half of the game.
Here is a brief review of some of the brilliant performances on the night:
Alexey Shved
Alexey Shved sliced up the Kaunas with a career-high 19 points. The 6 ft 6 in shooting guard finished the night with 5 for 8 shooting from the field, including 2 for 4 from downtown and 7 for 8 from free throw line.
Andrei Kirilenko
Andrei Kirilenko aka the AK-47 made a fantastic comeback to the Europe’s premier basketball competition after a 10-year absence. Kirilenko, who captained the Russian team to bronze at Euro basket 2011 in Lithuania last month, recorded a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
"Andrei is a special player not only for CSKA but for the whole of Russian basketball," CSKA president Andrei Vatutin said of Kirilenko’s fantastic performance.
Moscow’s small forward dealt out five assists and blocked four shots in 32 minutes of action. He went 6 for 10 from two-point range and 2 for 4 from free throw line.
Milos Teodosic
Moscow’s point guard Milos Teodosic also had a productive game. He chipped in 16 points, dished out eight assists, pulled down four rebounds and stole the ball twice. The player also tied former teammate Theo Papaloukas’ record for the most assists in the opening game of the league.
Darjus Lavrinovic
Darjus Lavrinovic had 12 points on a 2 for 2 shooting from three-point range and 4 for 4 from free throw line.
Nenad Krstic
Nenad Krstic also played well and ended the game with 11 points. The Serbian seven-footer also grabbed six rebounds and shot 5 for 7 from the line.
DeJuan Collins
DeJuan Collins led the way for Zalgiris with 18 points and four rebounds. Collins ended on 5 for 6 shooting from the floor, including 3 for 4 from 3-point range, and 5 for 5 from the line.
Sonny Weems
Sonny Weems also fought hard for Zalgiris and racked up 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
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