2020-21Final FourTHIRD PLACE GAME
AX Armani Exchange Milan 83
CSKA Moscow 73
May 30, 2021 CET: 17:30
Local time: 17:30 LANXESS ARENA

Milan tops CSKA for third place

AX Armani Exchange Milan finished its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season on a winning note with an 83-73 victory over CSKA Moscow in the third-place game of the 2021 Final Four at Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. Sergio Rodriguez scored 14 points and dished 6 assists to lead five Milan scorers in double figures. Vlado Micov also scored 14 and Michael Roll, Riccardo Moraschini and Shavon Shields added 11 each to help Milan score its first victory at the Final Four since its last appearance in 1992 when it also placed third. Toko Shengelia led CSKA with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Iffe Lundberg scored 13 and Johannes Voigtmann had 12 in defeat.

Each team's first basket came from a player who did not start in Friday's semifinal with Kaleb Tarczewski getting Milan and the scoreboard and Joel Bolomboy scoring for CSKA. Micov and Roll knocked down threes as Milan jumped ahead 10-5. Roll and Bolomboy kept the scoreboard moving. Roll was called for an unsportsmanlike foul on Lundberg, whose free throws gave CSKA its first lead, 12-13. Shengelia and Darrun Hilliard helped CSKA extend the lead before Moraschini knocked down a pair of threes to even things at 20-20. A put-back by Voigtmann and a free throw by Alexander Khomenko made it 20-23 after 10 minutes. Milan closed the gap throughs Zach LeDay before Tarczewski tied it from the line, 27-27. Roll connected on his second three of the game before Shengelia countered with a layup-plus-foul. Rodriguez heated up late in the quarter with a three-pointer, a free throw and a dish to Micov for an 8-point lead. Lundberg scored just before the halftime buzzer to send the teams to the locker rooms with Milan up 40-34.

Bolomboy and Shengelia scored the first baskets of the second half as CSKA slashed the deficit. However, triples by Roll and Rodriguez restored a comfortable Milan lead, 49-41. Shengelia stepped up with a steal, an assist and 4 points – including a slam that camped an 8-0 run to tie the game midway through the third quarter. Milan fired in the next 5 points, highlighted by Moraschini's layup after a Kyle Hines steal. Rodriguez shined for Milan, but strong play from Voigtmann, including a pair of threes, kept CSKA in it through three quarters at 60-57. Shields scored twice in an 8-0 run to open the fourth quarter that gave Milan the game's first double-digit advantage, 68-57. Nearly 4 and a half minutes passed before Bolomboy scored CSKA's first points of the quarter. A three by Nikita Kurbanov and a jumper by Ivan Ukhov had the CSKA bench roaring again at 71-64. A three by Micov all but put the game on ice at 78-69 with 1:25 remaining and Milan held on the rest of the way.

Stellar stat

Milan made 50% of its 22 three-point attempts, while CSKA shot 23.1% on 26 shots from downtown. Michael Roll made 3 triples and Riccardo Moraschini added a pair with neither player missing. Milan also blocked 7 shots, compared to 0 for CSKA. Five different players blocked a shot, led by Kyle Hines's 3.

Shengelia strong vs Milan, again

Toko Shengelia had his second-best game of the season – at least by the numbers – with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for a performance index rating of 26, which was his second-highest PIR in a CSKA uniform. His highest? Round 29 when he went for 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals for a PIR of 33… also against Milan.

Hines adds another milestone

Kyle Hines became the career leader in blocked shots at Final Fours with his third of the game. Hines's rejection of his former CSKA teammate Semen Antonov early in the third quarter gave him 16 at Final Fours – and 1 more than Ekpe Udoh and Maceo Baston, who had shared the top spot with 15.

"That just means I’m really old," Hines said after the game of the record. "I appreciate it. Any time you can be the all-time leader in history, it means something special."

Hines also moved into a second-place tie with Theo Papaloukas for the most Final Four games played with 18. Victory Khryapa leads the charts with 23 Final Four games.

Rodriguez makes more history

Sergio Rodriguez hit a three-pointer with 1:18 left in the first half to give Milan a 37-32 lead and move past former teammate Rudy Fernandez into sole possession of third place on the all-time list for three-pointers made. Rodriguez finished the game with 3 threes to take him to 497 in his EuroLeague career. The only two players with more are Vassilis Spanoulis (518) and Juan Carlos Navarro (623). With 6 assists, Rodriguez took his tally at Final Fours to 56, which is 3 less than Theo Papaloukas for the most ever at Final Fours. He also moved into the top 10 on the career Final Four scoring charts with 163. He sits ninth; Dejan Bodiroga and Papaloukas are tied for seventh with 164.

Sergio Rodriguez 2- AX Armani Exchange Milan - Final Four Cologne 2021 - EB20
Sunday, May 30, 2021
Euroleague.net
Referees: GARCIA, JUAN CARLOS; DIFALLAH, MEHDI; NIKOLIC, UROS
Attendance: 0 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
AX Armani Exchange Milan20202023
CSKA Moscow23112316
End of Quarter1234
AX Armani Exchange Milan20406083
CSKA Moscow23345773
AX Armani Exchange Milan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 PUNTER, KEVIN 15:04 2 0/1 0/2 2/2   1 1   1 1 1   5 1 -3
2 LEDAY, ZACH 26:25 7 2/5 0/1 3/3   3 3 1     1   3 3 8
5 MICOV, VLADIMIR 27:17 14 4/7 2/3     2 2 1 1 2     3 1 10
9 MORASCHINI, RICCARDO 17:41 11 2/3 2/2 1/2   3 3 1   1     2 1 11
10 ROLL, MICHAEL 15:03 11 1/4 3/3   1 2 3 1   2     4 1 7
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 22:08 14 1/1 3/8 3/4   3 3 6 1 3     1 2 16
15 TARCZEWSKI, KALEB 21:50 7 2/2   3/4 2   2 1 1 1 1   1 4 13
20 CINCIARINI, ANDREA 0:30                              
31 SHIELDS, SHAVON 22:17 11 4/6 1/2   1 6 7     3     3 4 13
32 BROOKS, JEFF 0:30                              
40 EVANS, JEREMY 13:35 1   0/1 1/2   3 3       1     2 5
42 HINES, KYLE 17:40 5 2/3   1/3   5 5 4 2 1 3   3 3 15
Team             2 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 83 18/32 11/22 14/20 4 30 34 15 6 15 7 0 25 22 96
        56.3% 50% 70%
Head coach: MESSINA, ETTORE
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
CSKA Moscow
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 LUNDBERG, IFFE 22:05 13 3/6 1/5 4/5   4 4 2 1 1   1 4 5 11
3 BOLOMBOY, JOEL 16:44 8 4/4     1   1   1 2     1   7
4 KHOMENKO, ALEXANDER 14:57 3   0/2 3/4       1         4 6 3
6 HILLIARD, DARRUN 16:21 9 2/3 0/4 5/6   2 2 1   1   1 1 3 6
7 UKHOV, IVAN 17:52 2 1/1 0/3         3 2       3 2 3
11 ANTONOV, SEMEN 11:53   0/3     1 1 2         2 2   -5
13 STRELNIEKS, JANIS 15:44   0/1 0/1   1   1   1 1   1     -2
17 VOIGTMANN, JOHANNES 20:14 12 2/4 2/5 2/2 1 5 6   1 2     1 2 13
21 CLYBURN, WILL 16:04     0/2     1 1     1     1 3  
23 SHENGELIA, TORNIKE 28:07 18 6/11 1/2 3/3 2 7 9 3 3 2   1 2 4 26
41 KURBANOV, NIKITA 16:57 8 1/1 2/2   1 3 4 1   1     2   10
50 ERIC, MICHAEL 3:02   0/3       1 1         1 1   -4
Team           1   1               1
Totals 200:00 73 19/37 6/26 17/20 8 24 32 11 9 11 0 7 22 25 69
        51.4% 23.1% 85%
Head coach: ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS

Head Coaches

MESSINA, ETTORE
AX Armani Exchange Milan

"Extremely happy, extremely proud of what these guys did. It’s been a really impressive EuroLeague season. Forty-one games and at the end we are third. We can cry a little bit about a 2-point loss in the semifinal, but I am extremely happy and proud and it’s something we can build on. It doesn’t mean we’ll be back for sure, but at least we will compete for sure. The good thing is these guys did it with class and personality. Nothing happened by accident. They behaved very well on every court in Europe. We got the respect and that’s very important."

"We didn’t do anything special [for motivation]. We just talked among ourselves that it was a matter of pride and it was a matter of confirming to the rest of Europe that we were not here by accident and the good things we did during the regular season and the playoffs and the semifinal was not something that had no background. The guys were extremely focused - right from the first possession. I had a good feeling that they wanted to win the game. Even Chacho in my plans was going to play less but he wanted to play and wanted to win the game. It was more their sense of responsibility and accountability that made everything happen one more time."

ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS
CSKA Moscow
"Congratulations to Milan for this game. Obviously, it leaves a bitter taste for us as a club regarding wins. We came here, just like every team, to win the championship game. That is the target. The semifinal is a final, which was decided by some small details. The third-place game is a procedure which has to be followed with pride and professionalism. And this is what we did. Also concerned to take a load off some players - thinking about controlling some players who were coming off injuries. Regarding the game, Milan was better. We opened the game pretty good. We had a second quarter where we turned the ball over too much - a little bit their zone, a little bit our turnovers. Five was too high a number. We made our comeback in the third quarter. But again we were not shooting the ball well. They were good looks, open looks. But 6-of-26 beyond the arc hurt us a lot. It leaves a bitter taste but I strongly believe that this is a group of great characters and we will take something positive out of this Final Four - how we became a team, a group of strong believers. Things did not go our way regarding the results. But the preparation for the next season is starting now. And I hope that this is the last Final Four that we play without fans."

Players

MORASCHINI, RICCARDO
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"I think our intensity allowed us to win the game tonight. We put a lot of energy out there. After the loss in the semifinal, we recharged mentally and put all we had to win the game. I got the chance to play today, so for me it was a big opportunity. I gave what I had and, emotionally, it was very hard. But I did my thing; I just played, enjoyed the game and the environment here. I am very happy today. It was an amazing season for the club. We have to be proud of what we have done all season long. We made it to the Final Four after 29 years. I felt a lot of positive energy coming from Milan on social media. We are just very proud of what we have done, all season long."
ROLL, MICHAEL
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"The key is coming out and giving effort in this type of a game. It does not count for anything, but it is pride. Once you step on the court, you are kind of taught as a kid to always play hard. And playing basketball is fun. I enjoyed it, we enjoyed it, and it was important for us to get a win. Coach spoke about our season. For us to do what we were able to do in his second year here, we helped turn around the situation. It is a very successful year, we were one shot away from the final, a couple millimeters. KP's three goes in with 8 seconds left, very high chances we win that game and play for the championship later tonight."
LEDAY, ZACH
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"We just played hard. We played together. CSKA is a great team, so we knew they were going to come out and play at a high level. We played together and moved the ball; that is what we were able to do. It was a good season for us. We feel unsatisfied because of the way we finished, but it was good that we were able to show progress and build a culture here. It was great to be here at the Final Four and I am hungry for more. We have to put some work in, finish the season and keep on working this summer."
SHIELDS, SHAVON
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"We didn't get what we came here for, so we have a lot to improve on and look forward to next year. We brought energy in the fourth quarter today and that allowed us to extend the lead a little bit. I think it is tough to play a game like this. We were a bit slow in the first half, also in the third quarter, but we brought some energy in the fourth quarter to win the game."
RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"It is the most difficult game I ever played in my life. I played the third-place game three times. We competed even when it didn't matter but at the end of the day, it is good for our rhythm. It is good for the right that we will have next week in Venice [Italian League semifinals] and hopefully, we can get back next year. I think it is better to wait a few days to grade our season when we will be relaxed. Obviously. it has been a great season for us. We were competing, had ups and downs but right now, in this weekend, when we didn't reach the trophy, it is hard to make a positive balance. For sure, we will be more positive in the next few weeks. I won the EuroLeague twice with Real Madrid and CSKA, but I didn't win in my first Final Four with either of them, so I will turn this frustration into motivation."
LUNDBERG, IFFE
CSKA Moscow
"Obviously, coming into this game, I don't think that either team was that motivated, to be honest. You don't come to the Final Four to play the third-place game, but at the end of the day, we have an obligation to go out there and do our job, and be professional. We have to learn from this because the season is not done yet. We still have the VTB finals and hopefully, we can take some things from this game and apply it to our opponent in the VTB Finals. The Final Four was a great experience, high-level. I am thankful for the opportunity, thankful for being here. I will be back, for sure. It was great. Super fun."
SHENGELIA, TORNIKE
CSKA Moscow
"As a CSKA player, we have to be professional and play at the highest level. We owed this to ourselves, our club, to our fans, to the EuroLeague. Things didn't go our way this time, but now we have to move ahead and focus on our finals in the VTB League. It's hard to take away good stuff now, but I'm trying to stay positive and enjoy every moment that we have here. Obviously, all four teams came here to win, but to get this far and to be healthy and play here here is blessing for me. "
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