By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Tornike Shengelia registered the first big performance of the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign to help CSKA Moscow beat Zenit St Petersburg 77-67 in the Round 3 Russian derby.
Shengelia took off with 33 points (30 of which he scored in the first three quarters), 8 rebounds in 35 minutes for a new EuroLeague career-high performance, a few days after another stunning performance against Anadolu Efes that granted him the Round 2 MVP honors.
Will Clyburn added up to his efforts with 16 points, 7 rebounds and Alexey Shved had 8 points for the Army Team.
“It’s good to get a win, especially in front of our home fans again. It’s great to be back. It was a good game. Everybody was on the same page. Obviously, there were ups and downs in the game, but we all stuck together and got the win. They are a low-pace type of team; they want to keep the pace low. So this was their type of game. I’m glad we got the win”, said Clyburn after the win.
CSKA got ahead with an 8-0 lead early in the game, though Zenit’s reaction was quick and the first half ended with a slight 36-31 advantage for the hosts. Shengelia’s efforts in the third period kept CSKA in charge of the game, while Clyburn stepped up in the fourth to help his team retain a double-digit lead.
On the other end of the court, Jordan Loyd was once against Zenit’s reference point, as he exited the court with 19 points to lead all scorers of the visitors. Zenit slips to a 2-1 record after getting narrow wins in the previous rounds against UNICS and Zalgiris and will look to bounce back against Bayern on Thursday’s Round 4 showdown.
Photo: EuroLeague