CSKA Moscow vs. Unicaja – Turkish Euroleague regular season preview
CSKA Moscow coach Jonas Kazlauskas is unsure when Darjus Lavrinovic will return from an injury, but the matchup between the Euroleague powerhouses of Group B might be enough motivation for the superstar power forward-centre to
get back on the court.
With Kazlauskas’ status in question for Wednesday’s home game, the Euro league’s best CSKA Moscow will try to win their fifth in a row in a game against Unicaja.
Kazlauskas, who was a rebounding monster in the Euroleague 2005-06 season, did not play against Panathinaikos previous week and missed Moscow’s crucial game this week.
Moscow (4-0), are in a strong position as they did not lose even a single game of this season and comprise of players like Milos Teodosic, Nenad Krstic, Andrei Kirilenko and the former Euroleague MVP Ramunas Siskauskas.
"We will be facing one of the teams that I think will be in the Final Four by the end of the season.” “The truth is that every single player in the CSKA roster has incredible level,” Unicaja head coach Chus Mateo said.
Moscow won its fourth consecutive game on November 10 with a 78-76 victory over Panathinaikos. The Russian champions won the game on the back of a combined team effort as they got the job done at both ends of the hard-fought contest.
Siskauskas led Moscow with 14 points on 4 for 5 shooting from two-point range while Krstic registered a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Viktor Khryapa had an all-around game with 11 points, four assists,
and three blocks while Kirilenko pulled down 1o rebounds, scored nine points and blocked five crucial shots of the opposite team. Alexey Shved was another major contributor in the winning effort with 10 points.
Unicaja, meanwhile, hopes to have Gerald Fitch back in uniform, as he is all set to join the line after a recovery from his wrist injury. They have been at their best in the last three games of the season, shooting 50 percent form
two-point range. Unicaja bounce back from their disappointing loss in the very first game of this season and win the next three in a row.
"We will try to win this game even if we know it will be difficult, but not impossible,” Unicaja centre Nedzad Sinanovic said.
Unicaja beat KK Zagreb 99-85 on November 09 at Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga and moved into a tie for second place in Group. After an eight-point deficit at the end of first quarter, Unicaja outscored Zagreb 30-14 in the second
period for a 49-41 halftime lead and maintained their hold until the final buzzer. Luka Zoric headed Unicaja with 14 points on 7 for 11 shooting from two-point range while Joel Freeland had 13 points and six rebounds in the victory. Jorge Garbajosa and EJ
Rowland chipped in 12 points each while Berni Rodriguez ended with 11 points.
Coming back to the upcoming game, Unicaja will battle hard to snap their eight-game losing streak against Moscow. But, to do so, they must come up with a proper strategy to handle Teodosic from the very beginning, as he is the
key of CSKA's offense. Both teams are coming off some brilliant victories and will try their best to maintain their winning run.
On the paper though, the Russians hold a definite edge.
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