CSKA vs Avtodor: 98-51
The second game with Avtodor in the Russia Cup wasn’t at all like the first one, though the margin of victory was the same in both games. CSKA’s two Americans — guard John Robert Holden and center Victor Alexander — took a rest and watched the game from the stands. Both contributed heavily to the win over Unicaja in Malaga, so they were give the chance to recuperate.
Thus center Aleksey Savrasenko and guard Eugeniy Pashutin — who watched the victory over the Spaniards from the bench — got significant minutes in the game. Savrasenko played 26 minutes, Pashutin — 25.
For Avtodor the biggest problem in the first quarter was making shots. They scored their first two points on free-throws from Andrey Ivanov with only 4:08 left in the period. In the meantime, CSKA had managed to score 16 points.
Of course, after the end of the first quarter, leading 25-8, the Army team let up a little on defense. But Avtodor was so demoralized in the first that they weren’t even able to take advantage of it. The margin reached 25 points.
CSKA made their next run in the second half, adding 10 more points to their 25-point lead. They were only able to stretch the lead to 40 with 3:35 left in the game on a dunk from Darius Songaila, the game’s leading scorer, putting CSKA up 83-43. In the remaining minutes, as the fans rooted them on, the team tried to reach the century mark, but there wasn’t enough time remaining. The game ended with CSKA on top 98-51.
The army team secured a spot in the Final Four of the Russia Cup, which will be held March 29 and 30 in Yekaterinburg.
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