Translated material
Threat of relegation
CSKA risks being left without the Final Four for the first time in six years
An accurate throw by American Lynn Greer from a difficult position moments before the siren to end regulation time in the first quarterfinal match of the ULEB Euroleague between CSKA and the Greek Olympiacos cast doubt on the army team's sixth consecutive entry into the quartet of the strongest teams in the Old World. Yesterday they lost - 74:76. This playoff series is played to two wins, and the return match will take place tomorrow in Greece, which automatically makes the opponent of the “red-blues” the favorite for the upcoming meeting. If Italian coach Ettore Messina’s team manages to take revenge, the third game will take place on April 10 in the Russian capital.The Red-Blues have already met Olympiacos twice this season, and this happened in the first group stage. First, CSKA won at home - 88:79, and in the second round the Muscovites failed to cope with their opponents on the road - 67:71. At the “Top 16” stage, the Russian club finished in the leading position in its quartet, although the Greek team finished second in the other four, but on the last game day they knocked out the host of the May Final Four, the Spanish “Real” (Madrid), from further competition. defeating the “royal” club on the soil of Hellas.
When Olympiacos played the mentioned matches of the current Euroleague against CSKA, the team was led by Israeli specialist Pini Gershon, well known for his successful work with Maccabi Tel Aviv. But as the season progressed, there was a reshuffle on the coaching bridge, and Gershon, who was prone to obesity, was replaced by the lean Panagiotis Giannakis, a living legend of Greek basketball, one of the participants in the “golden” team of the 1987 European Championship. Now Olympiacos players speak very disparagingly about Gershon’s leadership style, saying that under this mentor their game was more like street basketball.
It is difficult to judge how true this is, but, having fallen into the hands of Giannakis, Olympiacos looks like a balanced and purposeful team. Yesterday, the army team was able to avoid a significant deficit in points already at the end of the opening quarter due to the high efficiency of their shots from the six-meter line. But the “red-blues” made plenty of mistakes. It all started with a completely inexplicable miss by center David Andersen directly from under the opponent's hoop. The guests managed to throw almost all the balls into the CSKA hoop after attempts from medium and close range. They gained a five-point advantage thanks to an elegant half-hook by the former basketball player of the capital's Dynamo, a black American, Lynn Greer. Olympiacos achieved “plus seven” in the first period, but the army team invariably responded from the three-point arc.
The team from the port area of Athens continued to maintain a high pace of play in the second 10 minutes. Giannakis made many substitutions, and before the big break, Olympiacos had 11 basketball players out of a dozen announced on the court. Muscovites could not get rid of a certain constraint; they were unable to liberate themselves psychologically. Again, Andersen did not throw a 100% goal from under the shield, the Greek army players Theodoras Papaloukas and Nikas Zisis committed completely unnecessary offensive fouls in two attacks in a row. Marcus Gorey went to the free throw line and was left with nothing - two shots wide. The guests continued to take advantage of every chance they had. Another American, Kintel Woods, with a hit from afar, restored the dangerous advantage of the Olympic team - 37:30.
In the middle of the third period, Ioannis Bourousis spectacularly completed a “parachute” combination, driving the ball into the army team’s ring from above; dark-skinned Roderick Blakeney often caused trouble for the home team’s defense. The guests took the lead 49:38, making their advantage double-digit for the first time. Woods, who had caught the courage, completely went wild: a three-point shot from somewhere in the corner of the court and in the next attack a spectacular implementation of a fast break - 55:42. The outbreak of defensive activity by the home team was instantly extinguished by another Greer bomb. By the last break, CSKA had reduced the gap to ten points.
At 34 minutes The army team's deficit after Zisis' accurate free throws dropped to minus four, but again the Greek snipers were ruthless - Woods and Vasilopoulos restored the 10-point advantage. CSKA coach Messina was forced to use up his entire supply of timeouts earlier than usual. The minute pause and the adjustments made to the game came in handy. CSKA changed the score on the scoreboard from a murderous 60:72 to a 66:72 that left hope of victory. Zisis broke through to the team's goal from his homeland, hit the goal and also earned a free throw, then Smodis did not flinch when drawing fouls, and he also established equality with a field goal 0.26 before the end of the fourth period - 74:74.
The visitors' attack was interrupted by a foul, and they had only a few seconds to make their last attempt to take the lead. Greer made several deceptive movements, jumped out with the ball, hovered in the air and threw it at the end, causing the audience of five thousand to sigh in disappointment.