By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
An amazing third quarter (29-7) helped CSKA Moscow decimate Darussafaka Dogus 94-66, one week before the Russians’ battle with Unicaja Malaga for the first place in group D. This was the eighth win for the hosts (8-1), whereas the visitors suffered their fifth defeat (4-5) and now have to beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv at home next week, in a ‘do or die’ match for both teams, in order to qualify to the next phase.
For the winners, Nando De Colo had 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists, as four more players were in double digits. On the other hand, Reggie Redding scored 12 points for the losing squad, with Scottie Wilbekin adding 11.
In the beginning, CSKA Moscow took an early lead (11-4) and retained it in the first seven minutes of the game (17-8), however Darussafaka managed to remain close and cut the deficit to five points at the end of the first quarter (24-19). Later, the Turks played better offensively and were down by just two (30-28), but the Russians responded, enhanced their performance both offensively and defensively and closed the first half with a double-digit advantage (51-41).
In the second half, Dimitris Itoudis’ team was simply unstoppable. CSKA exploded and extended their lead to 32 points at the end of the third quarter (80-48), executing perfectly on both ends of the floor, as they outscored their opponents 29-7. In the last quarter, nothing changed significantly, as Darussafaka was unable to make a big come-back, and the hosts earned an easy and confident victory.