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CSKA: 16th Final Four for the defending champs

17/May/17 21:14

CSKA Moscow are travelling to Istanbul with the sole aim of repeating last year’s success, and at the same time confirming that no other team has managed to remain in the elite of European basketball for such a long time.

By Giorgos Orfanakis / info@eurohoops.net

 Taking the 1987-88 season – when the Final Four was established as the only way for the champions to emerge – as the starting point, the Army Team has reached the top four teams a total of 16 (!) times, that is, more than any other team.
However, CSKA Moscow has won the EuroLeague only three times, despite being constanly part of the elite and being judged by many only by its Final Four success.

Paris 1996: 3rd place

CSKA travelled to the French capital with the goal of returning to the top for the first time after 1971, but Dominique Wilkins’s Panathinaikos had a different opinion. In the first semifinal, the great NBAer stopped at 35 points and got the Greens the qualification, while the Russians settled for third place after their 74-73 win over Real Madrid.

Paris 2001: 4th place

Same city, same result. This time the obstacle on the way to the big final – of the Suproleague, the rival to EuroLeague competition that lasted only one season – was Maccabi Tel Aviv, with the Russians being knocked out (86-80) despite the great performance of the young then Andrei Kirilenko with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists.

The disappointment and the lack of motivation were evident in the third place playoff, with Efes Pilsen prevailing 91-85 over the Russians.

Barcelona 2003: 4th place
 
After a one-year absence, the lifetime Russian champions returned to the Final Four, this time under the instructions of Dusan Ivkovic. In the semifinal they faced the hosts, the Barcelona team of Jasikevicius, Navarro and Bodiroga, and were defeated 76-71 despite the efforts of J. R. Holden (21 points), while they subsequently lost to Siena as well (79-78).

Tel Aviv 2004: 3rd place

Dusan Ivkovic and his players had the misfortune of once again facing the hosting team and subsequent champions Maccabi Tel Aviv in the semifinal, just like one year before with Barcelona on their home court. The only difference in the 2004 Final Four compared to the one in 2003 was CSKA’s final ranking. The Russians prevailed in the third place playoff against Siena.

Moscow 2005: 4th place

A traumatic Final Four. Tau Ceramica and the amazing Macijauskas (23 points) managed to shock the Russians, who were even missing free throws, on their home court and force them into their biggest failure so far in the competition, while the defeat in the semifinal was followed by the defeat in the third place game by Panathinaikos. This was Dusan Ivkovic’s last Final Four on CSKA’s bench, as he was fired after the end of the season.

Tags Andrei Kirilenko CSKA Moscow Dimitris Itoudis Dusan Ivkovic Ettore Messina Euroleague Final Four Milos Teodosic
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