CSKA Moscow overpower Panathinaikos 91-75; Take the winning streak to 9: Euroleague Recap (Part 1)
On Wednesday night, two Euroleague giants came face to face in what was a mouth watering contest. Although it wasn’t much of a nail biter, but turned out to be an absorbing game till the end of the first half.
CSKA Moscow, who have been phenomenal in the tournament so far, extended their unbeaten run to 9-0 by overpowering their archrivals and reigning champions Panathinaikos 91-75. CSKA are now placed at the top of the group B, while
Panathinaikos have secured the second spot with a record of 6-3.
Both powerhouses fought the first half brilliantly and remained neck to neck throughout. However a crucial 14-0 CSKA run midway through the second frame turned the game to their side the Russians managed to maintain the lead there
after.
Panathinaikos coach, Zeljko Obradovic was disappointed with the loss. However, he boldly admitted his team was outclassed by the opponents. Showering praise on CSKA and highlighting the mistakes by his players that led to the defeat
in the end, he added;
"My congratulations to CSKA, not only because of victory, but because of the excellent game they played. It is easy to recognize that the start of the second half was crucial: CSKA had 14-0 run in less than three minutes. We tried
to get back in the game, but it was impossible because of the quality CSKA showed. We allowed too many easy points, we forgot our rules of playing against fast breaks and did not show the character needed to fight for the win”
Nenad Krstic was the most outstanding player of the night and paced CSKA with 17 points, on 9 for 10 from the free throw line. He also forced 12 rebounds to lead the Russian domination on the paint. Viktor Khryapa was also impressive
and added 16 dished out 4 assists and pulled down 7 rebounds whereas Jamont Gordon accumulated 12 points on the night.
Ian Vougioukas marshalled Panathinaikos with 17 points including 9 for 13 from the charity stripe and 4 for 6 from the two-point range while Steven Smith pounded 11 and pulled down three rebounds. No other player from the team
managed to produce a healthy tally.
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