CBA-Euroleague Challenge report: CSKA 71-62 Sydney
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Last season's Euroleague runners-up from CSKA Moscow shook off some major travel problems to outlast the Sydney Kings 71-62 on Sunday in Kunshan, China, marking the opening game of the first CBA-Euroleague Challenge. The crowd at Kunshan New Stadium let out oohs and aahs at what was the first live Euroleague Basketball seen by many of them. CSKA had barely warmed up for the game after getting stuck in traffic coming from Shanghai, but started the game strong and led from tipoff to buzzer, although Sydney was withing six points a couple times in the final minutes. Alexey Savrasenko helped give CSKA its biggest lead and finished with a team-high 13 points. Trajan Langdon added 12, including the key basket after a CSKA timeout late in the game. Sydney had the game's top scorer, Dontaye Draper, with 19 points, while Glen Saville added 14 and Jason Smith 10.
After getting stuck in traffic and having almost no time to warm up, CSKA looked no worse for the wear, as it rolled to a 9-3 lead with its customary precision. The crowd got into it from the start as David Andersen fed Langdon cutting for the first basked. Then, after Ramunas Siskauskas scored twice on similar drives, J.R. Holden assisted Andersen and Andrey Vorontsevich landed the game's first triple to make it 14-7. Jason Smith helped settle down Sydney with his second basket, while Isiah Victor got the Australians within 16-11. But the oohs and aahs of the Chinese crowd returned when Theodoros Papaloukas fed Vorontsevich with a sweet pass. Next, Alexey Savrasenko converted a three-point play before Papaloukas himself hit a driving layup to make it 23-11. Smith returned and blasted a triple for Sydney to keep the difference to single digits, 23-14, at the end of one quarter.
Zakhar Pashutin restored CSKA's double-digit lead to start the second quarter, but even before Matjaz Smodis landed a triple, Syndey had started waking up. Saville hit two triples and Draper another as Sydney pulled within 30-27, forcing a CSKA timeout. CSKA reacted by getting to the foul line on consecutive plays in a 9-0 run that Siskaukas, in his first game with his new team, capped with a corner triple. Mark Worthington answered in kind for Sydney, but Andersen and Nikos Zisis, also playing his first game for CSKA, got back to the line to restore a double-digit lead, 43-32, at the half.
 Syndey served notice that it wasn't going away by holding CSKA scoreless for more than 3 minutes after halftime while Ian Crosswhite hit 4 free throws. That's when CSKA coach Ettore Messina went to Savrasenko in the paint, and it paid handsomely. His first basket, came on a nice pass from Langdon, after which Papaloukas and Vorontsevich connected the same way. Zisis went back door for another basket, then made another-plus-foul shot to make it 49-37. Draper stepped up with a three-point play in response, but then it was all Savrasenko, who patrolled inside taking passes from Papaloukas for four straight trips down the floor worth 8 points and a 60-43 CSKA lead after three quarters.
Sydney regused to give in, however, and with Draper and Savill hitting deep shots, edged back during the early fourth quarter. Crosswhite joined in and capped a 2-12 run by cutting the lead all the way down to 62-55. CSKA needed a timeout then, but seemed to settle the matter soon after as Langdon drove for a nice basket and Andersen scored 4 points in a row that made it 68-58. Draper had other ideas and poured in 5 points to make it 68-62 before the CSKA defense made sure of the victory.
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Sunday, September 30, 2007
Euroleague.net
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