By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow is back to wins after taking down AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan on the road (107-81). This was a fourth straight loss for the Italians and eight in their last nine games in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.
The Russians spoiled Mindaugas Kuzminskas’ Euroleague home debut. The Lithuanian struggled, finishing the game with 6 points as CSKA was dominating from the start until the end.
The Stars: Nando De Colo did his magic, scoring 15 points in the first half and finishing the game with 24 points. He couldn’t be denied by Milano‘s defense along with his teammate Will Clyburn who finished the game with 15 points and 9 boards. Sergio Rodriguez was a true floor general with 8 assists adding 15 points as well.
De Colo was hot early on in the game scoring seven points in the first quarter and the visiting squad built eight points lead in that period (23-15). Despite Amath M’Baye’s quick seven points at the start of the second quarter, the Russians extend their lead in the second period. With De Colo closing the first half with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, CSKA was up by 14 (50-36) and the game was over.
The Key: Protecting the ball is always a great way to secure the win. The team coached by Dimitris Itoudis turned the ball twice in the first 20 minutes of action building a double-digit lead in that period which pushed them to an easy victory.
With back to back three-pointers by Kuzminkas and Dairis Bertans, the hosts cut the lead to 60-54 in the third period. That was the closest they could get for the rest of the game. Kaleb Tarczewski had game-high for Armani nailing 17 points, but that didn’t’ help them much. Jordan Theodore missed the game with a knee injury and Andrew Goudelock played just 12 minutes without scoring.
With this win, CSKA jumped to a 13-4 record, while Armani falls to 4-13.