By Eurhoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Will Clyburn and Daniel Hackett have been there and done that numerous times before for CSKA Moscow. Now, they brought out the veteran leadership that the Army Men was in great need of to take a 92 – 76 win over shorthanded Fenerbahce Beko in Game 1 of the EuroLeague playoffs.
Clyburn had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists while Hackett finished with 20 points of his own and both provided strong defensive solutions in the fourth quarter that were much needed for CSKA to make a tough (despite numerous absences) Fener to succumb down the stretch. The hosts had a 12 – 0 run with the score 72 – 70 and overall dominated the fourth period 28 – 10 to get the victory.
“In the second half I thought we did a good job as a team to collapse on their penetration,” Clyburn said. “We had more attention on De Colo. Good rebounding, sharing the ball, making the shots, good effort. [Before the fourth quarter, Coach Itoudis told us to] keep playing hard, keep executing, trust in the game plan and stay focused.”
An outstanding Nando De Colo scored 22 points in the first half and finished with 27 to not only help Fenerbahce stay in the game but also pose a serious threat to CSKA. Fener, that was minus head coach Igor Kokoskov, star Jan Vesely and five other players due to injuries and COVID-19 issues, had a 67 – 68 lead early in the fourth period.
CSKA’s response was absolute: Four straight 3-pointers, two of them by Hackett for the 81 – 70 with four minutes to play. After assisting two of them, Clyburn connected to the basket himself for a 3-point play and then Johannes Voigtmann drained the triple for the 87 – 73 with 2:50 to play. Fener was just unable to even hold back its opponents at that point.
“I would like to congratulate first of all our players because of the fight they gave on the court, even though we had many difficulties,” Can Erdem, the Fenerbahce assistant that served as head coach in the game, said. “They faced the difficulties and mentally were ready to fight until a certain point. We were not smart enough and we were gassed a little bit at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The boost from the bench
CSKA Moscow Dimitris Itoudis saw his bench players providing precious help on both ends, with key shots and stops, especially in the second half.
“I think that was, as expected, a playoff game that both teams were very determined,” Itoudis said. “It was a game of runs. We had a very bad run with a lot of turnovers in the third quarter and we allowed them a lot of easy buckets. They have that quality as well. But the fact that we played all together in the second half in general and everybody who came deep from the bench had big determination, big wish and big will to help the team like Semen and Ivan did a great job and of course everybody else. I’m happy again that it’s a team win. It’s just 1-0. We’ve seen it out there. It’s tough, nothing is given. It’s gonna be like that.”
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball