Gescrap BB routed CSKA Moscow 94-81

Gescrap BB recorded its first-ever Turkish Airlines Euroleague playoffs win by downing CSKA Moscow 94-81 in Game 3 of the best-of-five series in Bilbao, Spain on Wednesday. CSKA has a 2-1 lead in the series but Gescrap hosts Game 4 on Friday. Pushed by a sellout crowd of over 10,000 fans, the "Miribilla effect" allowed Gescrap to avoid elimination and keep fighting for Euroleague glory. Kostas Vasiliadis paced the winners with 20 points. Marko Banic added 18, Aaron Jackson had 13 while Alex Mumbru got 12 for Gescrap. Nenad Krstic led CSKA with 22 points on 9-of-9 two-pointers. Andrei Kirilenko added 16 while Alexey Shved had 15 for the guests. Vasiliadis shined in the first quarter, leading a 12-0 run that allowed Gescrap to get a 25-24 lead after 10 minutes. An outstanding Banic soon allowed Gescrap to boost its margin to 47-40 at halftime. Gescrap kept finding open shots after the break and free throws by Roger Grimau capped a 9-0 run that gave the hosts a 71-55 margin late in the third quarter. Nothing changed from that moment, as all Gescrap fans had plenty of time to celebrate arguably the biggest win in club history!

Milos Teodosic got CSKA going with a three-point play, which Vasiliadis erased with a seven-meter bomb. Kirilenko hit free throws before a layup by Krstic gave the guests a 3-7 margin. Kirilenko kept pacing CSKA with a fast break dunk. Mumbru bettered that with a three-pointer and later a free throw to keep Gescrap within 7-9. Krstic shined with a jump hook, which Axel Hervelle matched with a baseline jumper. Vasiliadis’s second triple gave Gescrap its first lead, 12-11. Dimitrios Mavroeidis delivered a backdoor layup and soon added a tip-in to ignite the crowd. A red-hot Vasiliadis buried another three-pointer that capped a 12-0 Gescrap run. Teodosic and Kirilenko tried to change things with free throws and Shved struck from downtown to trim the gap to 19-18. Mumbru sank his second triple, but an outstanding Kirilenko took over with a layup-plus-foul. Shved silenced the crowd with a three-pointer from the corner, but free throws by Mumbru and Banic put Gescrap back ahead, 25-24, after 10 minutes.

Banic scored down low off a great spin move early in the second quarter, but Khryapa answered with a five-meter jumper. Janis Blums sank a stop-and-pop shot that Krstic matched with a power layup. CSKA had improved its defense with Jamont Gordon at point guard and Gescrap opted to slow down the game tempo to find better shots. Banic scored again, but Gordon stepped up with a long jumper and provided a highlight with an off-balance layup, good for a 31-32 CSKA edge. D'or Fischer soared for a tip-in and Raul Lopez bettered Krstic's jump hook with a bomb from downtown for a 36-34 Bilbao edge. Krstic scored again, but Banic buried his trademark catch-and-shoot baseline jumper and Jackson added his own shot in transition to give the hosts a 40-36 lead as CSKA called timeout. Banic hit another mid-range shot and split free throws before Vasiliadis gave Gescrap a 45-36 margin, after a 9-0 run. A three-pointer by Andrey Vorontsevich, a tip-in by Jackson and a free throw by Kirilenko fixed the halftime score at 47-40.

Jackson sent the crowd to their feet with a floating layup right after the break but an outstanding Krstic did even better with a three-point play. Mumbru nailed a close jumper and Jackson beat the buzzer with a triple that made it a double-digit game, 54-43. D'or Fischer shined with another tip-in that Kirilenko matched with free throws before returning to the bench with 3 fouls. Mumbru immediately delivered with a backdoor layup but Ramunas Siskauskas bettered it with a triple and added free throws to keep CSKA within 58-50. Lopez nailed a long jumper and Banic matched Krstic's layup with a close basket for a 62-52 score. Shved fired in one from downtown but back-to-back jumpers by Mavroeidis and Lopez boosted the hosts' lead to 67-55. CSKA could not find the way to the basket and Banic shined with an acrobatic tip-in. Free throws by Grimau capped a 9-0 Gescrap run that broke the game open, 71-55. Kirilenko hit foul shots but only brought CSKA within 71-57 at the end of the third quarter.

Sasha Kaun tried to ignite the guests' comeback with a follow-up layup early in the second quarter. Vasiliadis stepped up with a second-chance tip-in but Vorontsevich kept CSKA going with an easy basket. Banic set the crowd on fire with an uncontested slam and free throws by Vasiliadis made it a 16-point game, 77-61. Gordon shined with a driving dunk but a wild three-pointer by Blums seemed to seal the outcome, 80-63, with 7 minutes to go. CSKA was not done, however, as Kirilenko took over with a tip-in and a triple by Vorontsevich got his team within 81-69. Gescrap called timeout and Vasiliadis downed a corner triple that Hervelle followed with free throws to restore an 86-69 Gescrap edge. By the time Jackson scored again, everything was said and done already. All Gescrap fans were already celebrating a win that goes straight into their team's history book. Meanwhile, CSKA will try to bounce back in Game 4, when it will have another chance to make it to the 2012 Final Four.