Double strike

Just another trip by our team will not be restricted by the visit to Athens. Army men will get back home to Moscow only on Monday early morning.

Transaero Airlines Boeing will conduct two flights 9797. The first one will bring red-blues to Greek capital, the second one will send our team to Gdynia, Poland, on Friday to play VTB United League game which take place on Sunday. No surprise, all 14 healthy players are on board for such a long trip. Only Darius Lavrinovic stayed home for therapy on his back and individual practices.

No doubt, the game against Panathinaikos is very special. The reigning Euroleague champion has the 7-game winning streak vs CSKA. The last win in Athens for army men is dated by November 10, 2004 - exactly 7 years ago. Red-blues' roster was completely changed during this period, but PAO has three players remaining - Mike Batiste, Dimitrios Diamantidis and Kostas Tsartsaris plus head coach Zeljko Obradovic.

"For the past decade Panathinaikos is probably the main opponent for CSKA in the Euroleague competition." - CSKA head coach Jonas Kazlauskas said. "Their strength is in stability: the club managed to have stable budget which allows to keep great coach Obradovic, core players who know what to do on the court to succeed, pretty much the same system. We are anxious to play this game, because Panathinaikos is our number one opponent, we will be able to see our real level. I am sure it will be interesting to watch."

Coach's words are approved by the stats. Panathinaikos leads the 2011-12 Euroleague in scoring (90.3 ppg.) and steals (12.7 spg.). CSKA is second in scoring (90 ppg.) and leads the competition in assists (22 apg.), blocked shots (6.0 bpg), three-point percentage (48.6%) and performance index ranking (113 per game). Basketball fans have the chance to sit back and enjoy one of those must-see Euroleague games.