Win for Ivan
Zenit St.Petersburg – CSKA: 73-78 (+5)
Zenit: Pangos (23 + 3 rb + 7 as + 6 to), Fridzon (4), Hollins (5 + 2 as + 3 st), Thomas (10 + 2 as), Black (16 + 8 rb + 4 pf) – start; Zaharov (6), Baron (5 + 2 as), Khvostov (0), Pushkov (DNP), Trushkin (2 + 4 rb), Zubkov (2), Poythress (0)…
CSKA: Ukhov (5 + 2 as), Hackett (11 + 5 rb + 2 as + 5 to + 4 pf), Shengelia (17 + 7 rb), Kurbanov (7 + 6 rb), Eric (2 + 3 rb) – start; Khomenko (2 + 2 as), Hilliard (10 + 2 st), Antonov (2), Voigtmann (13 + 10 rb + 4 as), Clyburn (9 + 3 rb + 3 as), Lopatin (0)…
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:
Congratulations to the team on the victory, determination and decisiveness. Throughout most of the game, we stayed focused. Many of our players have faced difficulties, but they prove themselves to be professionals. I think I can say on behalf of the team that we dedicate this victory to Vanya Ukhov. He proved himself to be a huge professional. In general, this season never stops to surprise us. But the team turns all obstacles into opportunities. In a basketball sense, Pangos gave us a lot of problems with his creation and execution, but in the second half we did better job and limited him. Better execution of free throws and smart decisions helped us to win. Nevertheless, Zenit is a great team, and this series has just started.