CSKA Moscow – Armani Milano 57-67: Great Italian double with one weapon in defence

Armani Milano celebrated his second win in as many games this season against CSKA Moscow, who also prevailed 67-57 in Russia for his 22nd game EuroLeague. The Italians took advantage of the absence of the hosts (Hackett, Klaiburn and Antonov) and combined with their unassailable defense and good percentage from the periphery, went away with the double and stayed in the top three of the table.

Hall and Hines were outstanding, carrying the Italians in goal while Daniels also provided valuable solutions from the periphery. CSKA got close to the goal and reacted before the end of the first half, but then suffered from his mistakes and failure to make the three (3/24 on target) which gave Armani the right to extend his lead. The first scorers for the Italians were Hall and Daniels with 13 points, while for CSKA Ludberg had 15 points.

The race

It was the visitors’ pressure defense that made the difference in the first minutes of the game and, together with Hall’s accuracy, put the Italians in the driver’s position early on. Milutinov used offensive rebounds and forced fouls from the Italians to give CSKA an opportunity to reduce. With big shooters from the periphery, mainly Daniels, Armani took the difference into double figures when CSKA from the periphery (0/5, three points) went wide.

CSKA did everything it could to replenish its holdings, and with Komenko putting energy on the floor, the difference went into single digits. With threes from Ludberg and Grigonis, CSKA came back and reduced to two points (29-31), but Dilleni provided solutions from the shooting line for the visitors and sent them to the dressing room at +5.

In the second half, Armani started more dynamically, gradually built up a difference again, carried the hosts into the fouls. CSKA Moscow’s mistakes were the ones that hurt him the most, giving Armani the right to take the difference to 16 points. CSKA’s failure at the periphery continued at a time when the Italian defense was increasingly pressing to secure a valuable victory in Moscow, which drew 2-2 against the Russians that season.

THE REFEREES: Boltauser, Jimenez, Vilius

THE TEN MINUTES: 10-23, 35-40, 46-55, 57-67

CSKA MOSCOW (Itoudis): Ludberg 15 (5/9 two points), Boloboi 7 (1), Komenko 2, Ukov 2, Vogtman 2, Sengelia 13 (6/12 two points, 7 rebounds), Milutinov 4, Grigonis 5 (1) , Kurbanov 3, Swend 4

ARMANI MILAN (Messina): Kell 9, Meli, Rodriguez 7 (1), Tarzuski, Ritchie 5 (1), Biliga, Hall 13 (4/6 two points), Delaney 7 (5/5 shots), Daniels 13 (4), Alviti, Hines 12 (4/6 two points), Bentley 1

Group stats – CSKA: 18/39 two points, 3/24 three points, 12/16 shots, 36 rebounds (22 + 14), 6 assists, 6 steals, 12 errors

Group Stats – Armani: 14/25 two points, 7/23 three points, 18/21 shots, 27 rebounds (23+4), 10 assists, 7 blocks, 10 errors, 6 blocks.

The following duties of the teams: In the 23rd game of the tournament, Armani Milano meets Zalgiris at home (28/1, 9:30 p.m.) and CSKA Moscow plays Unics Kazan away (28/1, 6:00 p.m.).