CSKA in Zagreb

Today at 10:30, the team bus should have left the USH CSKA for Domodedovo airport. But there was a delay of several minutes. Once all of the players had taken their seats in the bus, Sergei Kushchenko brought a bouquet of flowers and a stuffed animal in order to personally wish Sergei Monya a happy 20th birthday. That was the only hold-up. The charter flight from Domodedovo took off exactly on time.

The Croatian capital was in the middle of spring upon CSKA's arrival. Regardless of the cloudy weather, Zagreb was warmer than Moscow - 15 degrees. Trees were in bloom, and the bright green grass picked up the sleepy players' spirits after a long flight. Even head coach Ivkovic was generous enough to give an impromptu interview for a local newspaper. The team was almost late to lunch because of the Zagreb traffic. After resting up, the entire CSKA group went to the evening practice at the sports complex named after Croatian great Drazen Petrovic.

All 13 players are at Ivkovic's disposal: guards - Evegeny and Zakhar Pashutin, John Robert Holden, Nikolaos Hatzivrettas, Teodoros Papalukas and Nikolai Padius; forwards - Sergei Monya, Viktor Khryapa, Darius Songaila and Sergei Panov; centers - Aleksei Savrasenko, Alexander Bashminov and Victor Alexander. Which of these players will not suit up will be decided on the day of the game.