Today in Zlatibor CSKA played it’s second practice game against the Greek club PAOK. As in the first game, the CSKA players came away with the victory. American center Mario Austin missed the game due to a cold. In his place was Ryzan Vityaz forward Alexei Beznebeyev, who was invited to the camp in Serbia and Montenegro as a "sparring partner" by the PBC CSKA coaching staff.
PAOK started the game aggressively trying to avenge their loss in the previous game. The Greeks converted on their first six possessions and outrebounded CSKA by a count of 9-3. Dusan Ivkovic countered with aggressive pressure on the ball. The CSKA coaches noted that in comparison with the first game, the CSKA defense looked more focused. The army side forced its opponents into long possessions, preventing them from getting easy shots. As a result, the next 15 possessions for the Greeks ended in either steals for CSKA or 24-second violations. This especially brought results in the second quarter, which our team won by 15 points.
CSKA had in large part J.R. Holden to thank for the lead. Holden not only defended (3 steals on the night), but also directed the team effectively on offense (5 assists and 17 points in 24 minutes.)
According to Pavel Googe, "CSKA controlled the game for 30 minutes, which, considering the number of young players on the floor, is not all that bad. The guys played a concentrated game, and it showed from the foul line - 32 for 24. We intentionally played our reserves, trying to keep at least one of them on the floor at all times."
In the final quarter the Greeks were able to cut the margin slightly by taking advantage of CSKA’s younger lineup. In the final quarter, Dusan Ivkovic put Georgy Tsintsadze, Yegor Vyaltsev, Marcus Brown, Nikita Shabalkin and Alexander Bashminov on the floor. Bashminov was later replaced by another CSKA sparring partner, Georgian forward David Imnadze. The final result was 91-77 in favor of the army club.
PAOK (Greece) - CSKA: 77-99 (20-21, 11-26, 19-24, 27-20)
CSKA: Bashminov (25), Holden (18), Brown (14), Vyaltsev (12), Panov (8), Yudin (8), Shabalkin (2),Tsintsadze (2), Beznebeyev (2).
VTB Teams:
League&Tournament:
