Russian League Finals, Game 3: May 26, 2008
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CSKA Moscow is once again the Russian League champion! CSKA won its sixth consecutive Russian League crown, its 15th since the Russian League was created in 1992 and its 39th counting Soviet Union titles by sweeping its best-of-five title series against Khimki by 3-0. The Euroleague reigning champion rounded out an almost perfect season by downing Khimki 78-88 on the road in Game 3 on Monday. Trajan Langdon led the winners with 21 points. Matjaz Smodis added 16, J.R. Holden contributed 13, Ramunas Siskauskas had 12 and David Andersen 11 for CSKA. Maciej Lampe paced Khimki with 21 points, Kelly McCarty added 18, Anton Ponkrashov 14 and Vitaliy Fridzon 13 for the hosts, who trailed 49-52 late in the third quarter. Siskauskas, Andersen and Theo Papaloukas stepped up big from that moment to break the game open - 62-79 - with four minutes to go, enough to seal the outcome.
CSKA ran its offense through Smodis in the opening minutes, but Langdon followed consecutive jumpers with a corner triple to make Khimki call timeout at 6-12. Holden capped a 0-10 CSKA run with a seven-meter bomb but an outstanding Ponkrashov and a final layup by Mike Wilkinson brought Khimki back to life, 17-22, after 10 minutes. CSKA struggled to score against the hosts' 2-3 zone defense. Meanwhile, Clay Tucker and McCarty nailed consecutive jumpers while Fridzon struck from downtown to give Khimki a 28-27 edge. Holden buried a shot while Smodis followed a three-point play with a layup to put CSKA back ahead, 32-34, at halftime. Three-pointers by Smodis and Langdon boosted CSKA's margin to 36-45 right after the break. McCarty stepped up with 7 quick points and got some help from Ponkrashov and Pat Burke to make CSKA call timeout at 49-52. A dunk-and-foul by Victor Khryapa and free throws by Siskauskas gave CSKA a 51-58 edge after three quarters. Siskauskas followed a triple with a layup to make it an 11-point game, 55-66, with 7 minutes to go. Andersen and Papaloukas stepped up to seal the outcome, 62-79, long before the final buzzer, allowing all CSKA fans to celebrate yet another Russian League title in a historical season for the club!
| Final Playoffs, best of 5 games |
| Record | Team | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | | 3 | CSKA Moscow (1) | 97 | 74 | 88 | x | x | | 0 | Khimki (2) | 76 | 66 | 78 | x | x | | Russian League Champion 2007-08: CSKA Moscow |
| Final games | | Game 1 | CSKA Moscow vs. Khimki | 97-76 | May 22 | | Game 2 | CSKA Moscow vs. Khimki | 74-66 | May 23 | | Game 3 | Khimki vs. CSKA Moscow | 78-88 | May 26 |
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Euroleague.net
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