The intrigue is tied ...

Today, the semi -finalists of the Russian basketball championship will play the third matches the semifinals of the Russian basketball championship have already held two meetings. And in the pair of CSKA - UNICS, and in the confrontation of the “HIKOM” with the St. Petersburg Dynamo, the total score is 1: 1. Today in Kazan and Khimki, the teams will play among themselves once again. Regardless of the outcome of both meetings, not a single finalist will be determined today.

Whatever it is about when she generally comes to Russian basketball, all the same, sooner or later it goes to talk about the Moscow army. Not so long ago, passions about CSKA's brilliant victory in Euroleague did not subside, and today we are talking about the upcoming final of the Russian championship. The Russian championship, like money, has not yet been canceled. How the army team will perform in it and with whom they ultimately have to play - this is for the most part. The fact that CSKA may not get into the final at all is not in principle. The Messins subordinates to Ettore do not participate in these conversations, but in their own way they warm the intrigue to the best of strength. For example, they lost the first home match of the semifinals to the Kazan UNICS. Not with a bang, of course: 78:81 - the account for defeat is quite worthy, and UNICS, led by Stanislav Yeremin, was never a beating boy. Which, in fact, was fully shown. Even against the relaxed CSKA, even if the army team decides to play, jumping only on one leg, and throw it with only one hand, today it will be difficult for any club. Especially on the Parquet CSKA. In the first quarter, the hosts led their game, brought the score to “+10”, and it seemed that the guests, to be honest, would not even be ghostly chances. However, then everything went completely differently. Saulus Stebergas, as they say in such cases, caught his game, and if the leader has the rest, the rest of the team already knows who to be equal to. Vanterpool is not much behind the stambergas on the points scored. There are only three. So the army team lost these same three points - 78:81.

Opinions after the game were very different. Until the fact that there are mutual agreements on the need to hold two matches in Kazan. Both for the public and for the cash desk of the Kazan Club are two games better than one. Be that as it may, but in Kazan now you will have to play twice. The recent Euroleague triumph lost. However, if the army team, if it happened, then the next day this was not visible. "+29" in the dry balance. If on the eve of Strabergas he threw 25 points into the army rings, then in the second game only Martin Muyurseppu was given to throw more than 10. And from the army men they threw everything, a lot and tastefully. CSKA conducted an exemplary lesson on the topic "How to play basketball always, and especially after losing."

Today, in the capital of Tatarstan, the team will hold the third match. After the second, the mentor of UNICS Stanislav Eremin said: “The most important thing is that we will take one victory from Moscow.” With the support of the local public, CSKA will not be easy, and yet, in this semifinals, Muscovites have a chance, more. And this is still softly said.

In the second pair, everything is much more complicated. The St. Petersburg Dynamo lost one game on its site. Although after the first meeting, after the victorious 69:61, everything began to seem quite cloudless for basketball players from the coast of the Neva. The game was difficult for both teams, but, firstly, the St. Petersburg fought in the presence of six thousand of their fans, and secondly ... And this consideration can be set and secondly. Dynamo basketball players were forced to defend the entire first quarter, but they could not achieve the desired result. For the first small break, the teams left with a difference of seven points in favor of the guests. What was the time of two minutes Fotis Catsikaris with his ward, no one heard. But after that, the hosts did not miss the initiative, from a quarter to a quarter, increasing both the game and point advantage. They said their word Surovtsev and Khloponin, whom the current director of Dynamo Vladimir Rodionov has been led since the time of Avtodor, but McCalllow scored more than all points from Dynamo. At Himki, and indeed in the whole game, the most effective was Ruben Volkovyski. He has 20 points. Unfortunately, I was injured by Potzekko. Big loss for the club near Moscow. Which, however, did not stop the “Khimkim” in the second meeting to beat the owners, and even with a ten -hour advantage.

After the game, Fotis Catsikaris will call this match the worst of the season for his team. It would seem that in the presence of their fans, already having one victory in reserve, one could calmly play and win. But Dynamo basketball players for some reason missed such an opportunity. According to the same Catsikaris, he never saw his players so clamped. Nevertheless, the hosts were the leaders at first. But only the first. Then the guests, seeing that no one was holding the initiative, took her into their own hands. And if Khimkim is in his hands ... Sergey Elevich has a very strong team, even without Prozekko. In a word, by a great break, the guests took seven points. Dynamo, of course, rushed to play. And also naturally fell on successful counterattacks. We went to the same “tuts” by Savkov and Petrenko. Rodionov should remember since the time of Avtodor, as his Andrei Maltsev could alone “bury” any team alone. And I must also remember how, in such cases, the rivals of Maltsev held almost the whole team. And here the St. Petersburg basketball players Savkov and Petrenko were given almost like in training. Well, they threw them. In total, 37 points were sketched for two. Maybe a little, but for the general victory, “Khimkim” was enough. And Dynamo itself has significantly complicated life. It’s too early to guess, of course, but this season the St. Petersburg club at Himki did not win their floor. True, he always lost no more than a few points. So, unlike the first pair of finalists, nothing is clear to the end. The most interesting thing is that clarity will not increase even after today's meeting. As in a good detective, everything will be clear only on the last page.

Basketball. Russian Super League. The semifinals

The first match

CSKA (Moscow) - UNICS (Kazan) - 78:81 (21:17, 18:21, 16:15, 23:28)

CSKA: Vanterpool (22), Smodish (19)

UNICS: STEMBERGAS (25), Meshcheryakov (19), Best (13)

The second match

CSKA (Moscow) - UNICS (Kazan) - 94:65 (24:17, 29:16, 18:13, 23:19)

CSKA: Smodish (16), Langdon (15), Panov (12), Pashutin (11) UNICS: Muyursepp (15), Lavrinovich, Chikalkin (9)

The score in the series is 1: 1

The first match

"Dynamo" (St. Petersburg) - "Khimki" (Moscow region) - 69:61 (14:21, 15:13, 17:11, 23:16)

Dynamo: McCalllow, 14, Khloponin, 13

Khimki: Volkovyski, 20, Buker, 14

The second match

"Dynamo" (St. Petersburg) - "Khimki" (Moscow region) - 62:72 (14:18, 9:12, 16:24, 23:18)

Dynamo: Ashkrasbich, 18, Veremeenko, 11

Khimki: Petrenko, 20, Savkov, 17

The score in the series is 1: 1

05/16/2006 / Valery Vincurt Material published in the newspaper No. 81 dated 05/17/2006.