CSKA Russian defeated Kalev Estonia at home, 102-75 (31-14, 23-24, 23-19, 25-18).
Top Scorers
CSKA: Othello Hunter (19 + 8 reb), Will Clyburn (17 + 6 reb), Semyon Antonov (10)
Kalev: Ivan Almeida (18 + 5 ast + 3 stl), Janari Joesaar (13), Reggie Lynch (11 + 5 reb)
Story
CSKA took care of business at home on Monday, dispatching Kalev by 27 points to improve to 4-0. There were few positives for the Estonian visitors, who were outmatched from the opening tip and dropped to 1-2 on the season.
Moscow took control of the game in the 1st quarter, dicing up the defense for 31 points and a 17-point lead. Will Clyburn got the Army Men going, scoring 11 of his 17 points in the opening period, while the defense limited the Estonians to 14.
Kalev actually outscored the home team in the 2nd quarter, 24-23, but entered the break staring at a 16-point deficit, 54-38.
Not much changed after halftime. CSKA steadily added to its lead, while giving everyone on the bench plenty of minutes. Kalev simply could not match Moscow’s firepower as the home team finished with 102 points, the second club to score over 100 this season.
Stat
4 – CSKA becomes the 2nd team to four victories, catching Khimki, who won earlier today in Perm.
Return
Mikhail Kulagin made his season debut vs. Kalev. Back from injury, Kulagin played 16 minutes, finishing with eight points and two assists.
Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis: “Congratulations to the team on the win and our serious play. We took the game seriously from beginning to the end. I like that no matter the rotation, our defense and offense stayed consistent. It’s great we could use everyone. Mikhail Kulagin returned from injury and our young guys Lopatin and Khomenko got a lot of minutes. Khoma was very good on both ends, I should add. Congrats to everyone. This was a team game.”
Kalev head coach Donaldas Kairys: “We had a weak start today. We hoped to play much more physical basketball, especially on defense. Our main challenge was not turning the ball over, because CSKA will punish you immediately. But we made mistake after mistake. We also lost the rebounding battle. We’re not so small that we should lose by so much in that component. We need to forget this game and prepare for the next one.”
Photos
Up Next
CSKA: October 29 home vs. PARMA
Kalev: October 27 home vs. Avtodor
