Club News

For the third time in last two weeks CSKA wins a game against a rival that did not experience any losses in the tournament. This time Real that was 4-0 in the Euroleague was the victim. The loss made Panathinaikos the only leader in the group C. CSKA won despite the fact the team did not start the game well and the rival defended in a good way. But the Army club defense was organized even better and that was the key for the game.

CSKA center David Andersen would likely play against Real. The player sprained his gastrocnemius muscle in the last quarter of a game against Khimki.

Getting to the conference hall was much more difficult for Ettore Messina then he expected. On his way to the journalists he had to take a little outside walk down the snow-covered street laid on the territory of Khimki’s arena.

For the second time in a row CSKA played a game against a team without a loss in the Superleague. Last week UNIKS could not survive under CSKA defense pressure, this time is was Khimky that came from a win against Dynamo to test themselves.

At the press conference after the game the CSKA head coach Ettore Messina admitted that in the first half the team made the game complicated theirselves.

CSKA is the third Russian team to play this week against French side. Both Dynamo Moscow and Dynamo St.Petersburg came up winners from the games against Le Mans and Cholet correspondently. Now it was CSKA turn...

Today CSKA went to France to play the Euroleague game against Pau-Ortez. There are 12 players on the roster. They are forwards Sergey Panov, David Vanterpool, Matjaz Smodis, Nikita Kurbanov, Nikita Shabalkin, centers David Andersen, Alexey Savrasenko, guards Theodoros Papaloukas, Jon Robert Holden, Trajan Langdon, Zakhar Pashutin, Vasily Zavoruev. The game will start at 20.45 CET tomorrow so the team had a practice rather late if one would take a look at the time difference– from 22.00 to midnight (Moscow time).

CSKA tried a new transfer-accommodation technology – from the airport the team went directly to the Basket hall and had a practice. It is hard to choose the right word for it. It was neither morning nor evening one. Let’s say it was a daytime session – from 14.30 to 16.30. After that CSKA accommodated in the hotel an decided not to have another practice in the morning. The game started rather early at 17.00.

The press conference after the game did not bring any sensations but cleared out several important questions...

CSKA won the first Euroleague game this season. At USH CSKA the team outscored Unicaja: 87-63. The key period of the game came in the 3rd quarter that was won by CSKA 26-5, J.R.Holden made three long distance shots in the quarter.

Nikita Kurbanov would be able to play in a game against Unicaja tomorrow. Vladimir Dyachok would face a surgery on his back in the nearest future and that made CSKA to make an agreement with Lokomotiv-Rostov and to return Kurbanov from loan.

Slovenian forward Matjaz Smodis spent a part of the evening practice with the team tonight. The player is recovering from the ankle injury he received two weeks ago in a game against Montepaschi. It would be determined tomorrow if Smodis would be able to participate in a game against Unicaja.

CSKA spent less then a day in Samara. The team took a regular flight and that was one of the reasons not to plan the practice in the evening at all. The game started at 14.00 local time so CSKA did not have a chance to try out the floor of the basketball hall in Samara.

A rematch of the third-place game from last season's Final Four saw the same result on Wednsday, when Panathinaikos outdueled CSKA 92-82 at home in Athens to keep at least a piece of first place in Group C. The Greens moved up to a 2-0 record thanks to the emergence of Vassilis Spanoulis, who scored 28 points while missing only one shot all night.

There were no Greek journalists in the airport where CSKA landed yesterday. The crew from one of the TV channels awaited for the team in the hotel to make interviews with Ettore Messina and Theodoros Papaloukas. Other mass media were more concerned about Pao these days. The Derby daily made a front page title: ‘Welcome to the party!’

Jordi Bertomeu: "Dear Euroleague Basketball Fan, I seize the opportunity your club offers me to communicate you that I hope you will enjoy this new season of Euroleague Basketball, that we prepared with a big effort to be the best season ever of the Euroleague Basketball..."

Today at 9.00 CET the bus with CSKA aboard left the territory of USH CSKA and went to the airport Vnukovo. The team would take a flight to Athens from there. Tomorrow CSKA would meet Panathinaikos in a game of the second leg of the Euroleague.

CSKA was in the mood for the game with Dynamo Moscow region. The team came to Chekhov a day before the match and did not have to experience one and a half hour transfer from Moscow.

After the medical tests on Matjaz Smodis left ankle it is determined that CSKA forward would have to stay out of the court for from 2 to 4 weeks.

CSKA opening game in 2005-2006 Euroleague was frustrating for Army club fans. It's out of the question. The first upset came in the first quarter as CSKA forward Matjaz Smodis left the court with the injury. Most likely he has his ankle sprained but for sure it would be determined later.