By Giorgos Orfanakis / info@eurohoops.net
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.
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.
Prague 2006: 1st place
The time of the coronation with Ettore Messina on the bench and Theodoros Papaloukas on the floor! The “Tsar” of Greek basketball in the best period of his career was CSKA’s best player both in the semifinal as well as the big final.
The first obstacle on the road to winning the title was Barcelona. The Greek guard finished the game with 19 points (7-for-9 two-pointers, 5-for-7 free throws), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and together with Smodis (17 points, 12 rebounds) and J. R. Holden (19 points), they took their team to the final by winning 84-75. Two days later he was once again enjoyable, tallying 18 points and 7 assists against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Athens 2007: 2nd place
The obstacle of Malaga in the first semifinal proved insignificant for the Russians and, in the final, Theodoros Papaloukas (23 points, 9-for-10 two-pointers, 8 assists) went up against the Greens almost on his own, though the Greek team managed to get the win in the end.
Madrid 2008: 1st place
CSKA Moscow stayed away from the top just for a year since, in the Final Four in Madrid, they found the opportunity to get “revenge” from Tau Ceramica (83-79) for the lost semifinal of 2005 and then repeat the triumph of 2006 against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The final turned into a “one-man show”, with the Russians completely dominating in the second half and reaching their sixth trophy in total and the second in the years the title was decided in a Final Four.
In coach Dimitrios Itoudis’s second season, with Nando De Colo having an unbelievable season, Milos Teodosic more mature than ever, and Khryapa atoning with a crucial follow that sent the final into overtime, the Army Team returned to the top. To be continued in Istanbul.