Stellazzurra hits the century mark against CSKA

U18 Stellazzurra Rome collected its second win in as many games at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich in rolling past U18 CSKA Moscow 61-100 in Group A. Abramo Canka led the way with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for Stellazzurra, which reached the 2018 ANGT Championship Game. Kevin Ndzie added 15 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks, while Fedor Zugic and Nicola Giordano both scored 12 points and Phillip Wheeler and Emmanuel Adeola each chipped in 10 points in the win. CSKA dropped to 0-2 despite Anton Kardanakhishvili scoring 18 points and Aleksandr Maltsev tallied 14 points.

Kardanakhishvili’s three-pointer gave CSKA its first lead 3-2 and Maltsev made it 9-5. Wheeler hit four points for Stellazzurra for a 9-12 lead and Kirill Krylov knocked down a trey to knot it at 20-20 before the Italian side scored the final 7 points of the quarter for a 20-27 lead. Ndzie opened the second quarter with two baskets in helping Stellazzurra extend the gap to 20-33. CSKA needed almost 3 minutes to score in the quarter until Ivan Zimin’s three-ball, and it was 27-35 after a Kardanakhishvili score. But Stellazzurra got four points from both Ndzie and Leo Menalo in an 0-12 surge to move ahead 27-47. Lucas Maglietti added a three-pointer and Stellazzurra went into the break ahead 32-54. After Wilhelm Falk opened the second half for Stellazzurra, Maltsev drained 3 three-pointers to get CSKA within 45-59. And it was 47-61 when Canka started a 5-13 finish to the third quarter for a 52-74 advantage. Canka added the first 8 points of the final frame and a Falk triple gave Stellazzurra a 30-point lead 57-87, as CSKA did not get closer than 26 points the rest of the way.