By Vladimir Spivak/ info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow‘s duo Nando De Colo and Sergio Rodriguez had two shots to win the game, however both missed and Team Russia got the close 125-124 win.
Sergey Karasev was the MVP of the game and the star of the show with 29 points, seven assists and three steals as local talent had the lead for most of the game. Karasev, the star of Zenit St. Petersburg, was also the hosts of the event and the most shining star of the night.
He got more than great help by CSKA Moscow‘s Andrey Vorontsevich who finished the game with 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals for an index rating of 41, the best on the court. Despite the last minute absence of Alexey Shved, the Russians found the way to prevail.
For Team World, Coty Clark of Saratov with 20 points was the top scorer and Nando De Colo had 16 points and 8 assists. The “guests” managed to come back in the last two minutes of the game, but couldn’t “steal” the game.
Still, the point remains that the big winner of the night was basketball. As the sport is making strides in Russia in order to become established in an extended fan base, Saturday’s spectacle in a sold out arena was one more step towards the righ direction.
The day started with the rising stars of the league showing their stuff and continued with a double triumph for Lokomotiv Kuban with Frank Elegar winning the dunk contest and Ryan Broekhoff the three-point shootout.