Photo Gallery: Barcelona vs CSKA

Barcelona vs CSKA: 76-71

According to our club president Alexander Gomelsky, the battle between the Army team and Barcelona was worthy of a final. Both of the teams’ fans – who packed the Palau Sant Jordi stadium – must think the same thing. There’s a reason that the television ratings and the amout of spectators for the game were greater than those for the Benetton-Siena derby.

CSKA head coach Dusan Ivkovic decided to mix things up. J.R. Holden, Nikos Chatzivrettas, Victor Khryapa and Victor Alexander were already used to being in the starting lineup. But Lithuanian center Darius Songaila conceded his spot to Sergey Panov. Barcelona head coach Svetislav Pesic wasn’t doing any experimenting. Sarunas Jasikavicus, Rodrigo De La Fuente, Dejan Bodiroga, Gregor Fucka and Robert Duenas, as usual, began the game for the hosts. But the defensive matchups for Barcelona was another story. Pesic entrusted De La Fuente with the job of guardying Holden. The point guard Jasikavicus guarded Chatzivrettas. Furthermore, in the opening minutes the strategy didn’t bring much success. Both teams were nervous at the beginning. Duenas missed from under the basket, Panov couldn’t grab a rebound, picked up a foul and then left Gregor Fucka all alone under the basket: Barcelona 2-0.

But the slow start didn’t hurt CSKA. The team focused on defense. Khryapa, even though he picked up some fouls, guarded Europe’s best player – Dejan Bodiroga – and Holden was able to carry his teammates. CSKA even managed to rebound against the Euroleague’s tallest player. Their defense started to pay off. Fifteen-thousand Barcelona fans and 1,000 CSKA fans, who came to the Catalonian capital, saw the visitors go on an impressive 11-0 run in less than three minutes. But then the first problems began to appear. Sergey Panov picked up his third foul, and he had to be substituted. Victor Alexander couldn’t find his mark and had a traveling violation, allowing Barca to cut into the lead. However, it was the Barcelona head coach who had more worrying to do in the first quarter. After a Holden basket pushed CSKA’s lead to double-digits (17-7), Pesic took a time out. After the break, it was time to worry: Bodiroga, with his ability to pull his team out of the most hopeless positions – started to warm up. Time after time he drew fouls against his opponents and cut CSKA’s 10-point lead to 2 from the free throw line. Only Holden, taking De La Fuente 1-on-1 in great NBA tradition, helped the Army team take a 25-21 lead going into the second quarter.

In the first quarter it seemed as if CSKA had dealt with the pressure that accompanies such a game. But it turned out not to be so. Defensively they continued to play extremely well. Sergey Monya managed a beautiful blocked shot against De La Fuente. But they began to struggle offensively. Chatzivrettas was twice forced to take long 3-pointers with the shot clock winding down. But as soon as the home team took the lead, Songaila and Monya hit consecutive 3-pointers to put CSKA back up 35-30. But it didn’t last long. They failed to score on a couple of possessions, and then Ivkovic picked up a technical foul. When Barcelona’s German center Patrick Femerling took the floor, he snuck under the hoop for some easy dunks, sparking a 12-0 run for his team, giving Barcelona a 45-38 lead. CSKA couldn’t manage to slow Barca down before the half, and CSKA went into the half with that lead.

In the third quarter, the Army team got a second win. Sure, the Moscow team missed some shots, but Barca missed even more. Two easy mistakes by Barcelona’s leaders – doublt-dribble by Jasikavicus and trailing by Bodiroga – didn’t help the home team. The score got tighter and tighter. The Army team played an effective zone defense. Holden led the offense with an array of penetration moves and jumpshots. Bascially, CSKA showed what their fans had been hoping: that they were capable of winning not only the Euroleague semifinal, but also the final.

The demonstration of CSKA basketball brought results on the scoreboard. CSKA went ahead 58-57. But it was clear that the team’s leaders were tired. The defense continued to work, but offense again became an issue. Even in situations where one player was all alone under the basket, CSKA managed to miss shots.

The fate of the game was decided in the final 40 seconds. With a score of 72-68 in favor of Barcelona, CSKA still had a chance to catch up. But Songaila threw away a pass to Holden, resulting in a breakaway layin for Barca guard Juan Carlos Navarro, putting the home team up 74-68. Chatzivrettas cut the lead to three with a 3-point play with 20 seconds left. CSKA had to foul immediately. There wasn’t enough time to pick a player who would be the most likely to miss. As a result, Holden had to foul Bodiroga. The Yugoslav, who has been in countless such situations and come threw, knocked down the free throws to give Barcelona a 76-71 lead.

Holden and Alexander launched 3-pointers in the final seconds of the game. The Spaniards – certain of their victory – didn’t even try to stop CSKA from shooting. Unfortunately, CSKA couldn’t even hit then, and the score remained the same as the final buzzer sounded.

Barcelona will now face the Italian club Benetton in the final, while CSKA will face Siena for third place. Both games are on May 11 and will be shown on 7TV at 20:00 and 22:30, respectively.