Semifinal was a good strengh test for CSKA. It was an opportunity to prove everybody that qualifying to Euroleague Final Four didn't weaken the team. And Army men showed that they have enough motivation to do their best in every game they play. A confident and beauty win - 77-63.
UNICS - CSKA: 63-77
• CSKA qualified to Russian cup final for a fourth time in row
• Sergei Panov scored 17 points. It is a repeat of his high this season in all the official games
• Sergei Panov collected 9 rebounds. It is a repeat of his high this season in all the official games
Ettore Messina, CSKA head coach
- This game was important for us and I’m glad that we managed to win it in style. The key to this victory were team passing and defense: against rivals’ snipers and pick’n’roll both. However UNICS defended quite well against our pick’n’roll too, that’s why we were forced to use one on one dribbling and team passing more frequently.
The only sad moment in this game was loss of Matjaz Smodis. It’s difficult to say when he’ll be back on court – the checkup will be conducted later in the evening. This injury is the reason why Smodis played for only 10 minutes. But on the other hand Panov, Kurbanov and Van Den Spiegel played rather well in his absence.
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