By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The reigning Euroleague champions showed once again that they are the “team to beat” this year as well. CSKA Moscow made short work of Olympiacos in Piraeus playing highly concetrated basketball on both ends to win 81 – 75.
It’s safe to say that the Russian team got most of its work done in the first half where it took a 16-point advantage before heading to the locker rooms. This kind of deficit proved to be too much for Olympiacos to fully overcome, considering the problems the Reds, especially in their attacking efforts. A comeback attempt in the last minutes proved to be no avail and it was repeled by CSKA successfuly.
Nando De Colo once again spearheaded his team’s efforts finishing the game with 23 points and 9 rebounds, while Aaron Jackson added 15, most of them in the first period plus 5 assists. Kyle Hines was here, there and everythere for the Russians with 13 points.
A valiant Giorgos Printezis dropped 26 points for Olympiacos, while captain Vassilis Spanoulis added 14 and Khem Birch 10.
CSKA began the match making the most out of their slightest shooting opportunities, with a particularly hot Aaron Jackson beginning the game shooting a super 3/3 from downtown in less than three minutes. Olympiacos’ counterattack arrived by the hands of an amazing Giorgos Printezis who finished the first quarter with 13 points, helping his team remain close, 21 – 25.
The game became much more physical in the beginning of the second quarter which evidently affected both teams’ bucket production. But CSKA managed to find the way to the basket, in one way or another while the hosts struggled to make any shots, being scoreless for five minutes into the period. Coach Itoudis’ players took advantage of this, obtaining the afformentioned 16-point lead, 28 – 44 at halftime.
Spanoulis’ action in the beginning of the second half propelled his teammates to be more efficient in offense but CSKA Moscow preserved a steady double-digit lead. Everytime Olympiacos tried to draw closer, the Russians always found an answer whether it was through their well-read, highly physical defense or by finding the ideal option on offense to take their biggest lead in the game, 49 – 66 a bit before the end of the third quarter.
It took a bit long for the Reds to cut their deficit into single digits in order to avert their situation. Giorgos Printezis led another classic comeback attempt for his team, making it 71 – 75 in the last minutes, but loss of key rebounding and poor defenses didn’t let Olympiacos finish what it started.