CSKA defeated Samara at home – 97:77 (25:15, 18:26, 20:19, 34:17).
Game progress
The guests opened the scoring, but CSKA quickly get the initiative. Melo Trimble scored 10 points in the quarter, the Moscow team started to take the lead. The first quarter ended with a long-range shot by Anton Astapkovich, which gave CSKA a double-digit lead – 25:15.
In the second quarter, Samara offense came into play. Brendan Adams and Anton Kardanakhishvili allowed to gradually get closer. Andrei Solon scored buzzer-beater and the difference was 2 point by halftime – 41:43.
The Volga team didn’t stop there. At the start of the third quarter, Gleb Goldyrev gave the guests back the lead – 48:45, and after Ivan Pynko free throws, the Volga team lead reached 7 points – 58:51. But the Moscow team didn’t let their opponent get far. Trimble started another CSKA run, which helped the hosts take the lead at the end of the third quarter – 63:60.
Key moment
Until the middle of the fourth quarter, the guests didn’t give up. But then Avramovic kicked in. Three-pointers gave his team a 9-point lead – 75:66. CSKA got the momentum. Trimble and Avramovic continued to score and the hosts lead quickly became double-digits, which the Moscow team held till the end.
X-factor
Three-pointers were the key for CSKA. The Moscow team made 15 of 28 long-range shots (53.6%).
Facts
CSKA got its 11th consecutive win. This is the longest winning streak in the season.
Samara has never beaten the Moscow team before. Today’s loss was the Volga team 5th against CSKA. At the same time, Samara is still consistently losing by double-digit.
Melo Trimble was the main hero of the game. The guard had his best performance of the season (26 points) and set a VTB League season-high 7 steals.
Ilia Popov scored 20 points and set his new season-high. This is the second highest scoring game in the VTB League for the bigman.
Leaders
CSKA: Melo Trimble (26 + 7 steals), Aleksa Avramovic (15), Livio Jean-Charles (14), Amath M’Baye (14).
Samara: Ilia Popov (20 + 8 rebounds), Brendan Adams (17 + 6 assists), Aleksndr Gudumak (12 + 6 rebounds).
What’s next
CSKA: December 7 at home against Zenit
Samara: December 5 at home versus Lokomotiv Kuban.
