2006-07Top 16Round 2
February 21, 2007 CET: 18:15
Local time: 20:15 USH CSKA
Matjaz Smodis - CSKA Moscow - EB06

CSKA Moscow thrashing Partizan 67-44

CSKA Moscow took a step closer to the Quarterfinal Playoffs in Group E by thrashing Partizan 67-44 in the Russian capital on Wednesday for its 15th straight home win. CSKA improved to 2-0 in Group G and could become the exclusive leader atop the standings if DKV Joventut beats Olympiacos on Thursday. Meanwhile, Partizan dropped to 0-2 and needs to start winning right away to keep its playoff hopes alive. CSKA held Partizan to 44 points and both teams combined for 111, both the second-lowest marks ever in a Top 16 game. The records belong to Efes Pilsen, which held Benetton Treviso to 43 points on March 10, 2005, in a game where both teams combined for just 95. Oscar Torres and Matjaz Smodis led the winners each with 11 points, while Anton Ponkrashov had 10 off the CSKA bench. Kosta Perovic had 10 for Partizan. CSKA had a slim lead thoughout the opening half, but Trajan Langdon and Ponkrashov helped the hosts to a double-digit halftime margin, 37-27. Partizan got as close as 39-33 midway through the third quarter, but a 13-2 run allowed CSKA to seal the win long before the final buzzer.

Smodis opened the game with a three-pointer from the left wing and then fed Torres for another bomb from downtown for a 6-2 CSKA lead. Predrag Drobnjak joined the three-point festival with one from the right wing and then Perovic scored in the paint to give the visitors their first lead, 6-7. Smodis found Langdon for a big triple, but Perovic buried a jumper that tied the game at 9-9. Aleksey Savrasenko scored inside before an active Smodis added free throws to restore a 4-point CSKA lead at 13-9. Torres capped a 7-0 CSKA run with a triple, but Dusan Kecman answered from downtown to get Partizan within 16-12. Theo Papaloukas stepped on court and soon delivered a layup, which Perovic matched at the other end. Partizan went scoreless for 2 minutes until free throws by Thomas Van den Spiegel and David Andersen gave CSKA a 21-14 lead after 10 minutes.

Van den Spiegel heated up t the start of the second quarter with a slam and a big block on Uros Tripkovic at the other end. Partizan continued to struggle to score and called a much-needed timeout. The visitors remained scoreless for 4 minutes until Tripkovic nailed one from downtown. Papaloukas answered with a quick layup, but Drobnjak copied him to get Partizan within 25-19. CSKA did not find the right rhythm in offense either, but good defense kept the hosts ahead. Kecman hit free throws to cut the gap to 4, however Drobnjak picked up his third foul and returned to the bench. Ponkrashov came off the bench to feed Savrasenko for an easy basket and then he fired in a bomb from downtown to put CSKA up 30-23. Vonteego Cummings stepped up with a mid-range jumper and Smodis and Nikola Pekovic then traded free throws. Langdon buried a three-pointer and Ponkrashov added a jumper to give CSKA its biggest lead yet, 37-27, at halftime.

Pekovic tried to ignit the Partizan comeback with a quick basket after the break, as Papaloukas, Smodis and J.R. Holden missed consecutive three-point shots. CSKA opted to look for its big men inside and Papaloukas fed Savrasenko for a score. Pekovic shined again with consecutive put-back baskets to cut the deficit to 39-33. CSKA kept looking for outside shots without much success. But once Partizan entered the foul bonus, CSKA opted to attack the basket. Smodis hit free throws and then Holden fired in a triple – his first basket – to make it an 11-point game. Partizan improved its defense, holding CSKA scoreless for 2 minutes, but only managed to get within 44-35 on a layup by Perovic. Holden rescued CSKA with 4 free throws and Andersen buried a jumper to give CSKA a 50-35 advantage after three quarters.

Torres capped a 9-0 run with a jumper early in the final period, but Tripkovic matched it with a layup for a 52-37 Partizan deficit. The visitors needed to improve their offense in the final period and started to score fluently, but CSKA had other ideas in mind. The defending champs held Partizan scoreless for more than 2 minutes, during which Ponkrashov buried a three-pointer and then stole the ball and took it in for a dunk for a 20-point CSKA margin, 57-37, with 6 minutes to go. Partizan called timeout and slowly improved its offense, but only managed to trade baskets now. Free throws by Smodis and a put-back basket by Savrasenko kept CSKA way ahead, 61-40, with 3 minutes remaining allowing CSKA to enjoy the closing minutes of yet another defensive exhibition that makes it the team to beat in Group G.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Euroleague.net
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Referees: MITJANA, JUAN CARLOS; PILOIDIS, ANASTASIOS; CHIARI, ROBERTO
Attendance: 4000
By Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow21161317
Partizan141389
End of Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow21375067
Partizan14273544
CSKA Moscow
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 PAPALOUKAS, THEODOROS 21:30 6 3/8 0/1     3 3 3   3       3 6
5 KURBANOV, NIKITA 2:15 1     1/2   1 1   1         1 3
8 SMODIS, MATJAZ 23:45 11 0/3 1/5 8/8   3 3 2 1 1     2 7 14
10 HOLDEN, JR 26:45 7 0/2 1/2 4/4 1 1 2 2 1       1 3 11
11 PASHUTIN, ZAKHAR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 ANDERSEN, DAVID 19:15 4 1/4 0/2 2/2 1 4 5 1 1 1       3 8
14 SAVRASENKO, ALEKSEY 22:00 8 4/5     3 3 6   1 1 1   3   11
15 KASHIROV, ANATOLY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
17 TORRES, OSCAR 24:00 11 1/2 3/4     2 2     2     2 2 9
18 PONKRASHOV, ANTON 16:30 10 2/4 2/5     1 1 1 1 1     1   6
21 LANGDON, TRAJAN 29:00 6 0/2 2/4   1 3 4 3 1       2 3 11
22 VAN DEN SPIEGEL, TOMAS 15:00 3 1/2   1/4 2 4 6     2 4   3 2 6
Team             2 2   1 1         2
Totals 200:00 67 12/32 9/23 16/20 8 27 35 12 8 12 5 0 14 24 87
        37.5% 39.1% 80%
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
Partizan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 TEPIC, MILENKO 12:00   0/1 0/2     1 1     1     3 1 -5
5 BOGDANOVIC, LUKA 13:15   0/3       4 4 1         1   1
7 KECMAN, DUSAN 30:45 7 1/2 1/2 2/2 2 3 5     3     4 1 4
8 BAKIC, BORIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 BOROVNJAK, DEJAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 TRIPKOVIC, UROS 33:45 7 2/6 1/6   1   1   1     1 2 1 -2
12 VELICKOVIC, NOVICA 5:00   0/2   0/2   5 5   1 1     2 1  
13 PEROVIC, KOSTA 26:45 10 4/6   2/2   4 4     1   1 4 5 11
14 PEKOVIC, NIKOLA 13:15 8 3/5 0/1 2/2 2 4 6   1     1 4 1 8
18 DROBNJAK, PREDRAG 29:00 8 2/4 1/2 1/2   3 3 1   4   1 3 2 2
20 BOZIC, PETAR 1:30                              
25 CUMMINGS, VONTEEGO 34:45 4 2/5 0/2     1 1 4 1 3   1 1 2 2
Team           1 2 3   1           4
Totals 200:00 44 14/34 3/15 7/10 6 27 33 6 5 13 0 5 24 14 25
        41.2% 20% 70%
Head coach: VUJOSEVIC, DUSKO
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

MESSINA, ETTORE
CSKA Moscow
“Today Partizan showed that there is a big difference if the team plays under pressure or not. Even the head coach of the team Dusko Vujosevic mentioned it in his preview quote for Euroleague.net. Our goal for the first two home games in the Top 16 was to win both and we succeeded. Surprisingly we had a low shooting percentage tonight, but we managed to overcome the problem with our defense. We limited Partizan to only 44 points a game. J.R.Holden and all other guards made a good job on Vonteego Cummings. The guard is a very important player for Partizan. I am happy with the win and also I’d like to mention solid performance of Anton Ponkrashov. That is very important for our team.”
VUJOSEVIC, DUSKO
Partizan
“We played pretty good in the first half. We were on the same level with CSKA, but the final margin of two quarters does not express it because we made some stupid mistakes in the end. In the second half we had very poor three-point shooting percentage and we were knocked down with the CSKA defense. But once again the gap between our level of play was not that big as the score.”

Players

LANGDON, TRAJAN
CSKA Moscow
"It doesn't matter by how much we beat them: it was a good win for us. Offensively we struggled, but on defense everybody stepped up, everybody who came from the bench did a great job both on the perimeters and the bigs."
TRIPKOVIC, UROS
Partizan
In fact, both Partizan and CSKA played tough defense. We really did our best at the defensive end, but on offense we tried to answer and scored only 44 points. You can't beat CSKA if you attack the rim that awfully. I would like to praise Ponkrashov - he played more than average for himself."
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