Langdon is back

Transaero flight with CSKA on board landed in Mariupol where the team will play against Azovmash in the first away game of VTB Unified League.

Dozen of players which stepped on Ukrainian land can be named combatant. Trajan Langdon is back with the team after short illness. The shooting guard replaced Victor Keyru in the lineup. Also Matjaz Smodis (injury) and Artem Zabelin (flu) stayed in Moscow. It should be mentioned that by Regulations of VTB League every team should have a couple of players who played two years for the club’s junior team. These two players on CSKA roster are Nikita Kurbanov and Alexey Shved.

“We are very glad to have Trajan back, - CSKA head coach Evgeny Pashutin noted. Langdon is one of our leaders, and his absence was very significant for us in game vs Lottomatica. It is obvious that he cannot play to the full extent, and we will decide during the course of the game what kind of load he is ready to bear. Azovmash is a serious opponent. Coach Rimas Girskis is an experienced, well-know specialist, he rules the team masterfully. Azovmash won a number of games in the last seconds this season and that tells about the ability to control the tempo o the game. Mariupol team has a strong frontline with Daniels and Rizvic. Overall the team can be characterized as the melt of youth and experience.”