Playoffs Game 3 - April 09, 2008 CET: 18:15 Local time: 20:15 - UNIVERSAL SPORTS HALL CSKA
PLAYOFFS, GAME 3
GROUP Quarterfinal 4

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
1-1 Playoffs 1-1
4-2 Top 16 4-2
12-2 Regular Season 7-7
17-5 Overall 12-10

Referees

Crew Chief
BRAZAUSKAS, ROMUALDAS, Lithuania
Referee
HIERREZUELO, DANI, Spain
Umpire
DOZAI, SRDAN, Croatia

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
78.5 Points 80.8
32.3 Rebounds 32.5
8.4 O. Rebounds 8.7
23.9 D. Rebounds 23.7
14.0 Assists 12.8
7.8 Steals 7.7
2.7 Blocks 2.9
10.3 Turnovers 13.2
53.0 % 2PT 53.7 %
40.1 % 3PT 36.9 %
73.8 % FT 82.9 %
91.1 Index 87.2

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
12.9 / Andersen Points 15.1 / JACKSON, MARC
6.0 / Andersen Rebounds 6.0 / JACKSON, MARC
2.0 / Goree OR 2.2 / JACKSON, MARC
4.4 / Andersen DR 4.1 / Bourousis
4.9 / Papaloukas Assists 3.6 / Greer
1.3 / Papaloukas Steals 1.2 / Greer
1.0 / Goree Blocks 1.2 / Bourousis
1.9 / Papaloukas Turnovers 2.5 / JACKSON, MARC
58.7 % / SISKAUSKAS, RAMUNAS 2PT 78.3 % / TSAKALIDIS, JAKE
54.3 % / Andersen 3PT 43.6 % / Vasileiadis
87.1 % / LANGDON, TRAJAN FT 100.0 % / Vasileiadis
15.8 / SISKAUSKAS, RAMUNAS Index 16.8 / JACKSON, MARC

THE TAKE

One of the most exciting Quarterfinal Playoffs clashes in recent history will be decided one way or another on Wednesday when CSKA Moscow hosts Olympiacos Piraeus in deciding Game 3 in the Russian capital. Olympiacos stunned CSKA in Game 1 74-76 on Lynn Greer’s buzzer-beating jump shot, but CSKA evened the score in Game 2 in Athens as the trio of Matjaz Smodis, Trajan Langdon and Ramunas Siskauskas shined in a 73-83 victory. Now both teams will pull out all the stops and try to put their best foot forward to clinch a spot at next month’s Final Four in Madrid. History favors CSKA, as not only have head coach Ettore Messina’s charges been to a record five consecutive Final Fours, but never before had the Russian champs lost a playoff game at home and the odds of that happening twice in eight days are slim. Furthermore, never before has a Euroleague Basketball series seen all the games go to the visiting team. On the other hand, the Reds have reasons for optimism. Head coach Panagiotis Giannakis’s charges have shown plenty of mental toughness recently, including winning their last three road games at some tough arenas. Additionally, Olympiacos forward Qyntel Woods has been hot lately on both ends of the floor and his Game 1 defensive showing against reigning Euroleague MVP Theo Papaloukas was a main reason for the outcome of that contest. However the Reds, who have battled injuries all season long, will be shorthanded again as Arvydas Macijauskas and Kostas Vasileadis are out against CSKA. A key statistic in the series thus far has been three-point shooting. CSKA was below its average with just 36.8% in its Game 1 loss, but made 54.5% in the Game 2 win. Meanwhile Olympiacos shot 50% from downtown in Moscow, but 37.5% in Athens. If any of the many sharpshooters on either side heats up in Game 3, it could prove to be a major factor between these defensive minded sides. CSKA will look to its experience to help get through this challenge as it can boast a roster with eight players that won the Euroleague title with the club two years ago. Olympiacos will look to Greer to lead the team, with Woods, Rod Blakney and reserves Georgios Printezis and Ioannis Bouroussis asked to rise to the occasion. All signs point to a tense and low-scoring defensive battle, however with so many excellent offensive players on the floor, one man’s brilliance can make the difference in a series whose outcome will shape two teams’ entire season.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

MESSINA, ETTORE
CSKA Moscow
"We know it will be a difficult game as are all of the games that are decisive for the qualification to the Final Four. I think we are capable of winning and it is very important to be ready to play as we were in Athens. I think the key to winning will be control of the tempo and of the rebounding. On Sunday, Tomas Van Den Spiegel started to run. It is not clear yet if he will be able to participate in the game or not. Unfortunately, Andrei Vorontsevich will be sidelined for the game because of a pulled muscle."
GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"After four games this season, the two teams know each other very well and I think that there is no room for surprises. Patience, concentration and having a clear mind are the keys for both teams to win the game and make the Final Four. We missed those things in the second match and we lost to CSKA. Now we have become wiser and we return to Moscow to play 40 minutes, maybe more, and to fight for qualification. Grabbing rebounds, setting the tempo and avoiding turnovers are our top priorities. I think that the winner of this series will learn a lot of things and can use them in the Final Four. After eight weeks with the team, I feel that we are not ready to manage either big victories or big losses, but this is a challenge to work tough. We will also miss Macijauskas and Vassiliadis, but the rest of the players will give all their power to do it."

Players

VASILOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"We played a bad league game against Panionios, so we didn’t have the opportunity to work on some things that might have been very useful for the upcoming game against CSKA. Now there is no time to think about the loss, but only to prepare ourselves for the third game. We are 40 minutes away from the Final Four and this is a big deal. I hope that we are going to give our best and do it. We need to play with concentration, passion and of course good defense. Olympiacos was built to reach the Final Four. So we will leave no stone unturned in this match."
Ramunas Siskauskas - CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow is headed back to the Final Four! The Russian champs defeated Olympiacos Piraeus 81-56 on Wednesday night in Moscow to win their best-of-three Quarterfinal Playoffs series 2-1 and secure their record sixth straight trip to the Final Four next month in Madrid. The hosts were in control throughout, building a double-digit lead midway through the second period and never letting Olympiacos get closer than 7 the rest of the way. CSKA also avenged its only home loss of the season suffered against Olympiacos in Game 1 of the series. Ramunas Siskauskas paced CSKA with 24 points on a career-high 5 three-pointers, while Matjaz Smodis scored 13 and Theo Papaloukas added 12 for the winners, who had a terrific shooting night going 13 for 22 from downtown and 14 for 15 from the line. Panagiotis Vasilopoulos netted a career-high 17 and Lynn Greer scored 11 for Olympiacos, which loses in the quarterfinals for the third year in a row.

Olympiacos won the opening tip, but it was CSKA that got on the scoreboard first through David Andersen in the paint. Georgios Printezis answered with a triple, however CSKA looked a bit more comfortable and 5 quick points from Siskauskas put the hosts in control. The Reds soon settled down and Greer tied the score first with a basket and then by assisting to Jake Tsakalidis. Andersen and Trajan Langdon scored from close range to restore the hosts' lead and despite a long Rob Blakney jumper, Olympiacos seemed to be playing catch-up. A Smodis triple made it 14-9, however a Tsakalidis basket-plus foul kept things close. The hosts stretched the lead to 8 after JR Holden and Papaloukas fired in back-to-back three-pointers. Greer made a pair of free throws to limit the damage to 22-16 after 10 minutes.

Lynn Greer - OlympiacosIncreased defensive intensity characterized the early second period. A Viktor Khryapa three late in the shot clock gave CSKA its biggest lead yet, 27-18, however it was matched by Milos Teodosic's three-point play. Smodis and Vasilopoulos traded threes before Papaloukoas muscled his way to 2 points inside that increased the hosts’ lead to double figures. Greer came back from a short breather and promptly hit a three-pointer, but the visitors still couldn’t generate any real momentum. Papaloukas went coast to coast for a layup and on the next possession added a free throw to give CSKA a 41-29 halftime lead.

Printezis opened the scoring for Olympiacos before Langdon hit a deep three that stretched the lead briefly to 13 as Printezis came through again. This time Siskauskas hit from downtown and the swelled to 47-33. The trend continued as Greer scored 2 points and Siskauskas betted him to make it a 15-point game. However back-to-back Vasilopoulos triples quickly cut the deficit to 50-41. CSKA used a timeout to think things over after which Smodis hit from outside, however Blakney continued the Olympiacos momentum and got his team within 53-46. Siskauskas came to CSKA’s rescue with another three-pointer and after the hosts' defense forced a 24-second violation, Siskauskas’s fourth three of the game ignited the crowd. Vasilopoulos scored twice to narrow the gap to 61-50 heading into the fourth quarter.

Theo Papaloukas - CSKA MoscowSmodis went to work on the Reds with a basket and free throws on the first two possessions of the fourth quarter, as the game clock became another worry for Olympiacos. Andersen buried back-to-back jumpers, prompting Olympiacos head coach Panagiotis Giannakis to call timeout down 15 hoping to inspire a late comeback. But when Siskauskas fired in another three-pointer and the lead hit 18 with four minutes to go, even the most ardent Olympiacos fans stopped believing. Papaloukas stretched the lead to 20 and it continued to grow in garbage time as CSKA celebrated another trip to the Final Four.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Euroleague.net
Referees: BRAZAUSKAS, ROMUALDAS (LTU), HIERREZUELO, DANI (ESP), DOZAI, SRDAN (CRO)
Attendance: 5000
By Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow22192020
Olympiacos1613216
End of Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow22416181
Olympiacos16295056
Head coach: MESSINA, ETTORE
CSKA Moscow
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
3FG
M-A
FT
M-A
Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 PAPALOUKAS, THEODOROS 23:02 12 3/3 1/2 3/4   3 3 4 1 3     3 4 16
6 ZISIS, NIKOS 8:23               1             1
7 KASHIROV, ANATOLY 1:21   0/1       2 2               1
8 SMODIS, MATJAZ 25:10 13 1/2 3/3 2/2 1 5 6 3 1 1     2 4 23
9 SISKAUSKAS, RAMUNAS 27:19 24 3/5 5/6 3/3   2 2 1 2 1   1 4 3 23
10 HOLDEN, J.R. 27:00 3 0/1 1/3     1 1 6   1     2 3 7
11 PASHUTIN, ZAKHAR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 ANDERSEN, DAVID 21:27 8 4/6     1 2 3           3 1 7
21 LANGDON, TRAJAN 32:31 9 2/3 1/4 2/2   4 4     1 1   3 1 7
22 GOREE, MARCUS 25:57 6 1/5   4/4   1 1 2   1 1 1   2 6
23 SHVED, ALEXEY 1:45 3   1/1     1 1           1   3
31 KHRYAPA, VICTOR 6:05 3   1/3     2 2           1   2
Team             2 2   3 1         4
Totals 200:00 81 14/26 13/22 14/15 2 25 27 17 7 9 2 2 19 18 100
53.8% 59.1% 93.3%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
3FG
M-A
FT
M-A
Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 BLAKNEY, RODERICK 29:04 9 3/5 1/2     3 3 4 1       1   13
5 PAPAMAKARIOS, MANOLIS 1:45           1 1               1
6 WOODS, QYNTEL 23:12 2 0/1 0/1 2/4   1 1     2     2 2 -3
8 SEIBUTIS, RENALDAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS 22:32         1 2 3 1   3 2   1 2 4
10 TSAKALIDIS, JAKE 16:14 7 3/3   1/1 1 3 4     1     3 3 10
11 GREER, LYNN 32:34 9 1/5 1/7 4/4 1   1 4       1   6 9
12 MAVROKEFALIDES, LOUKAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 VASILOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS 27:00 17 3/6 3/5 2/4   3 3 1 1     1 4 2 12
16 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 29:17 9 3/7 1/4   2 3 5 2   2     4 3 6
17 KAFKIS, PANAGIOTIS 1:06                              
18 TEODOSIC, MILOS 17:16 3 1/1 0/1 1/1   1 1 1 1 1     3 1 2
Team           1 1 2   1 3          
Totals 200:00 56 14/28 6/20 10/14 6 18 24 13 4 12 2 2 18 19 54
50% 30% 71.4%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

MESSINA, ETTORE
CSKA Moscow
"We showed a lot of patience and concentration. We controlled the pressure and thanks to the great defense and the best possible decisions on offense, we managed to win the game and make the Final Four. CSKA's sixth consecutive trip to the Final Four is a great achievement and I hope to go all the way. I am very proud for my players, the club and the fans, who pushed us to this result. I will never forget their support. It has been a difficult way so far and many great teams lost their road. I don’t care whom we are going to play, but I can promise that we will make every possible effort to win it again."
GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"Unfortunately we were not competitive in the fourth quarter and we didn't help to have an interesting game in the end. Olympiacos tried for 30 minutes to stay in the match and to fight for qualification to the Final Four, but CSKA has more experience, patience and a better way of thinking and acting during the games. When we came back, we made a serious mistake: We thought that we could go further using only our offence. We rushed the situations, we didn't play defense and that’s the story."

Players

SISKAUSKAS, RAMUNAS
CSKA Moscow
"I don't feel like I am the game hero. This win is for all our team. We won it mostly because of our defense. We were really focused since we stepped on court. Everyone knew which was the prize of winning this game, but we were not focused on the Final Four. Of course, Olympiacos was more important for us tonight."
PAPALOUKAS, THEODOROS
CSKA Moscow
"I am very happy for our sixth consecutive Final Four and especially for my compatriot and teammate Nikos Zisis, who is going to play for the very first time. Tonight CSKA played the way that we are supposed to play for 40 minutes. We are a team that is built for this kind of basketball. Now I am only enjoying our success and there is no reason to start analyzing the Final Four or talking about favorites. Everything in its own time."
VASILOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"The result is fair. CSKA deserved to win and I wish them the best at the Final Four. I hope that we will learn a lot of things from this adventure, especially how to read the situations and to manage the game better. Patience and concentration have to always be top priorities."
No pictures yet
There is no video yet
Russia: RTR Sport
Israel: SPORT 5 LIVE
Greece: SKAI TV
China: GUANGDONG TV
Ukraine: Sport 2
China: Beijing TV
Bulgaria: Ring TV
China: Shanghai TV
FYROM: MRT
Scandinavia and Baltics: VIASAT SPORT 3
Lithuania: Tango TV
Poland: CANAL+ SPORT HD
Spain: TVE TDP (Delayed)
Albania: SUPERSPORT
Ukraine: MEGASPORT
Cyprus: Supersport
Pacific: ESPN, Saturday (Delayed)
Middle East: AL JAZEERA
Brazil: ESPN, Saturday (Delayed)
Internet: EUROLEAGUE.TV
Iberoamerica: ESPN, Friday (Delayed)