Today CSKA left Belgrade for Novi Sad to play a practice game with the local club Vojevodina. The starting five for CSKA was: Yegor Vyaltsev, Marcus Brown, Anton Yudin, Sergei Panov and Alexander Bashminov. CSKA could not get things going offensively in the first quarter, often using up the entire shot clock. The stronger Vojvodina players were preventing our offense from doing what it wanted. Additionally, the home team was effective on the fastbreak and was equally effective under the basket (12 free throws in the first 10 minutes).
The arrival of Holden on the floor in the second quarter (8 assists, 7 rebound and 15 points on the game) changed the flow of the game. Plus, after going over the previous game, the team had been told to be more active on the offensive glass in order to get more putbacks. At the end of the second quarter CSKA trailed 43-46, and in the third quarter an 8-0 run force the Vojvodina coach to take a time out. After the minute’s rest, CSKA increased its lead to 11 points. The Army team was able to contain the opponents on offense, effectively denying entry passes. Out of 14 points for the home team in the quarter, seven came from the foul line
On offense CSKA tried to pound the ball inside. Sergei Panov played an especially good game, scoring 16 points on the night. Alexander Bashminov was effective on the boards (8 rebounds and 13 points). And the Army team’s youngsters also played well against their more experience counterparts from Vojvodina. Vasiliy Zavoruyev (3/4 3-pointers), Nikita Shabalkin and Yegor Vyaltsev, according to the CSKA coaches, are improving each game.
Having allowed CSKA a 10-point lead, Vojvodina made a furious comeback in the final quarter. The Yugoslav club converted on seven of its first eight possessions in the quarter. The fact that the home team didn’t emerge with a victory is largely thanks to Marcus Brown, who played point guard in the fourth quarter. The American guard scored 10 points (including two critical 3-pointers) and handed out 7 assists.
Vojvodina - CSKA: 80-88 (21-16, 25-27, 14-28, 20-28)
CSKA: Panov (26), Holden (15), Bashminov (13), Brown (10), Zavoruyev (9), Vyaltsev (6), Shabalkin (5), Beznebeyev (4)
The CSKA Reserves played one of their best games against their opponents from Zeleznik. The junior Army team made an excellent impression on Yugoslav basketball experts, who praised the balance in the team and admitted that the final score of the game (83-85 in favor of the home team) was due more to the officiating, who handed the game to the hosts.
Tomorrow morning both teams - the junior team and the main team - will travel to Vrsac, where they will play two practice games before returning to Moscow. Right now only the main team’s opponent is known. On the day of arrival Dusan Ivkovic’s team will play the fifth-place team in the Yugoslav League -- the local club Hemofarm. Tip-off is at 20:00 (Moscow time).
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