CSKA rallies to down Ulm for first win

U18 CSKA Moscow picked up its first victory at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich by knocking off U18 ratiopharm Ulm 84-89 in Group A. Aleksandr Maltsev collected 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals while Anton Kardanakhishvili picked up 23 points and 7 assists for CSKA, which finished group play with a 1-2 record. Kirill Krylov added 13 points and Aleksandr Evseev chipped in 10 points for the winners. Bent Leuchten paced Ulm with 20 points and 9 rebounds while Igor Milicic scored 16 points, Andrija Grbovic had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists and Aleksa Bulajic contributed 13 points for Ulm, which fell to 0-3 and will face U18 ALBA Berlin in seventh-place game on Sunday.

Bulajic hit a three-pointer as Ulm jumped ahead 9-5. Maltsev and Kardanakhishvili both were on target from long range in a 2-12 CSKA run to go up 11-17. Moritz Heck’s three-ball evened the game 20-20 and CSKA was leading 23-24 after 10 minutes. The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair with six lead changes by the time of Krylov’s three-ball to make it 32-35. A Evseev triple resulted in the eighth lead change for 36-38 before the lead switched hands three more times in the final minutes and Ulm led 44-42 at the break. CSKA was able to stay close and trailed 52-49 when Leuchten scored four points in a 9-0 spurt to lead 61-49. Kardanakhishvili and Maxim Kuzemkin both hit three-pointers at the other end and CSKA tied it 64-64 after 30 minutes. Milicic scored seven points for Ulm as the German side was up 77-74. With the score 77-76, Jakob Hanzalek committed an unsportsmanlike foul which resulted in two Krylov free throws and a Maltsev basket and Kuzemkin followed with a three-pointer for a 77-83 advantage. Ulm would get within two points but Kardanakhishvili made 5-of-7 free throws in the final minute to secure the win.