CSKA vs Slask: 73-45
Without the injured Darius Songaila, there was no clear leader for CSKA in the game with Slask. If, of course, you don’t count the typically strong play of J.R. Holden. Nonetheless, by the end of the first quarter, CSKA lead 17-11. And they successfully build on the lead up until halftime, helped by excellent team defense and missed easy shots by the Slask players. At the half, the shooting percentage of the team which recently defeated Real was at a lowly 27%.
The game, however, was not decided in the first quarter, even though CSKA lead 36-19. In the third quarter, Slask changed their strategy. The Polish team slowed the game down and successfully employed a zone defense. Such a tactic didn’t make the game aesthetically pleasing. The fans, used to seeing CSKA’s dynamic play, even started to get bored. In 10 minutes, both teams combined for a total of 20 points, with CSKA winning the quarter 13-7. But the stretch made the game a bit more intriguing. Slask was able to get back within striking distance, cutting the CSKA lead to 11 points, 43-32.
CSKA, however, didn’t give their opponents the chance. The home team jumped out to a 9-0 run in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter sparked by dunks from Khryapa and Bashminov and a three-point play by Papaloukas. It took the visitors three minutes to notch their first basket of the fourth quarter. The Army team continued to pick up the pace, and Slask was not ready for this turn of events. At the sound of the final buzzer, the scoreboard showed a blowout, with CSKA winning 73-45.
There were fewer fans at the game than at the last game before the break, a win over Real Madrid. They took active part, however, in the competitions organized by CSKA. Between the third and fourth quarters, emcee Oskar Kuchera forced the entire crowd to turn their backs to the hardwood and look under their seats for a magnet of the CSKA logo. The magnet gave the right to a new mobile phone donated by Gorbushka. The fans searched for the prize, but the woman who finally received the phone didn’t look thoroughly enough. The emcee was forced to announce the row and seat where the magnet was located.
There was no rest for CSKA after the game with Slask. Tomorrow the team will begin preparing for the meeting with Lokomotive from Mineralniye Vody, which will take place this coming Saturday.
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