By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The re-match of one of the two semifinals of the 2015 Final Four took place in Moscow where local CSKA defeated Olympiacos 92 – 85. The Russian team rarely lost control of the game, or the lead against its opponents, despite the Reds’ continuous resistance.
It was Milos Teodosic who especially took advantage of his ability to force the contact and win fouls, always keeping his team ahead and never allowing Olympiacos to complete its strong comeback efforts led by a vastly improved in the second half, Vassilis Spanoulis (15 points, 6 assists). The Serbian guard finished the match with 21 points (10/11 free throws) and 5 assists, while for the guests, Giorgos Printezis was close to another double/double with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Slow paced game with half court offenses and mediocre scoring output were the two main things that characterized the first quarter. CSKA was the one to hold the lead, preserving a steady difference thanks to consecutive high low connections between Viktor Khryapa and Nikita Kurbanov which punished Olympiacos‘ defenses. Yet Giorgos Printezis’ post up moves were trustworthy and efficient enough to bring Olympiacos closer at the end of the period, 18 – 15.
Itoudis’ players then successfully opened the rhythm to increase the lead 25 – 17, 3 minutes into the second quarter. Some poor defensive switches by Olympiacos served Kyle Hines’ mobility and strength quite well as the American center became the recipient of many passes by his teammates which he made into baskets for the first double digit lead of his team, 32 – 22 in the mid of the quarter. Matt Lojeski responded with some jumpers, but CSKA was superior closer to the rim, finishing plays with ease.
With the halftime lead being 41 – 52, an impressive 0-8 run by Olympiacos with transition plays and good open looks to the basket helped the guests tie the match but some personal moves by Nando De Colo put his teams back ahead. Vassilis Spanoulis was the x factor in the Reds and their far more lucrative offensive output, since he was creating and scoring abundantly. Oly was on a roll and DJ Strawberry even put his team in front of the score, 51 – 52. With the entrance of Kyle Hines, CSKA finally made some defensive stops and then Cory Higgins and Milos Teodosic regained the lead of 8, with which their team has entered the period, making it 60 – 52. Although the Russian team managed to win many fouls and constantly find score from the free throw line, Olympiacos kept being close, finishing the quarter 66 – 61 thanks to a buzzer beating 3 by Daniel Hackett.
The two teams exchanged long range shots during the first minutes of the final quarter. Once again the guests draw closer with Daniel Hackett shooting from afar for the 73 – 70. But quickly, CSKA answered with a 10-1 partial score finding many players ready to contribute. No matter how much Olympiacos tried after this point, the hosts were not really up to losing the lead, and the game.