Given that teams work so hard to gain home court advantage in the playoffs, it is clearly something that is worth aiming for. However, you still need to put the effort in to reap the rewards of the home advantage and this is definitely the case with the Russian side in this series. A 100-80 win over Panathinaikos sees CSKA Moscow sitting with a 2-0 lead in a best of five series, which means that they are just one win away from reaching the Final Four. If the Russian side manages one more win against the Greek side, they will reach their 12th Final Four in 13 seasons, which has to go down as a tremendous effort over the years.
Given that teams work so hard to gain home court advantage in the playoffs, it is clearly something that is worth aiming for. However, you still need to put the effort in to reap the rewards of the home advantage and this is definitely the case with the Russian side in this series. A 100-80 win over Panathinaikos sees CSKA Moscow sitting with a 2-0 lead in a best of five series, which means that they are just one win away from reaching the Final Four. If the Russian side manages one more win against the Greek side, they will reach their 12th Final Four in 13 seasons, which has to go down as a tremendous effort over the years.
Panathinaikos know that they are entering do or die territory and if they fail to take advantage of their own home court advantage in the next game, their Euroloeague season will be over.
The Russian side had a number of players in great form in this game with Sonny Weems managing to pick up 20 points. With Nando De Colo and Andrei Kirilenko also offering up 16 points each, there was a lot for the home side to be pleased about.
Milos Teodosic was on a mission
They also made sure that they were in the history book once again with a total of 28 assists, with Milos Teodosic picking up 8 of them all by himself. One of the key players for the away team was Vasilis Charalampopoulos who led the way for Panathinaikos with 14 points. Nikos Pappas and James Gist both managed to grab 13 points for the losing team while Antonis Fotsis offered 12 points. Other notable players for the away side were Vlantimir Giankovits and Esteban Batista who both managed to deliver 10 points each in defeat.
Panathinaikos had their moments
The Greens from Greece got off to an impressive start, taking an 8-14 lead but this just encouraged CSKA to find some form, hitting a 15-0 run that turned the game, seeing the home side lead 21-14 after just 10 minutes. By half-time, the score was 47-35 and the second half followed in the same format with a 72-54 score line at the close of the game’s third quarter. Both teams went for it in the final quarter and there was plenty of excitement and drama for the fans to enjoy but the outcome of the game was never in doubt.
With a 2-0 lead, the team from Moscow knows that they have the chance to end this series quickly, giving them some time to rest and recover before their next bout of Euroleague duties. For Panathinaikos, things are looking grim and there is a need for a home win or their dreams of reliving Euroleague glory will be lost again for another year.
The third game in the series isn’t taking place until Monday, so there is time for both sets of players to step away from Euroleague action and regroup before going at it once again. There is a fourth game scheduled for Wednesday but if CSKA have their way, it will not be required.
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