CSKA Moscow defeated Nizhny Novgorod at road – 92:72 (25:18, 15:18, 25:20, 27:16).
The best scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Mikhail Kulagin (16), Alexander Gankevich (12 + 5 rebounds), Nikola Jovanovic (9 + 5 rebounds).
CSKA: Iffe Lundberg (19), Tornike Shengelia (17 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Johannes Vogtmann (12 + 7 rebounds), Will Clyburn (12), Ivan Ukhov (12), Alexey Shved (10).
Game progress
CSKA, taking into account the Euroleague, had to play the third game in the last 7 days. In addition, the Army team arrived in Nizhny Novgorod immediately without two key players: Nikola Milutinov and Marius Grigonis were forced to stay in Moscow due to injuries. Nizhny Novgorod came on the floor for the first time in an official game in the 21/22 season.
Strong start of the first quarter by Iffe Lundberg helped CSKA to take the lead, but Ivan Strebkov and Alexander Gankevich did not let the opponent escape into the gap. Alexey Shved, who came off the bench, gave another push to the game: the Russian initiated a 9-point run of the red and blue team and the guests’ advantage for the first time became double-digit – 22:12. Famous for everyone CSKA tight defense allowed them to control the game, but at the start of the second 10 minutes remained for the Nizhny. Mikhail Kulagin, who played out, single-handedly neutralized the gap, and Gankevich’s two-point shot put Nizhny ahead – 26:25. The retaliation by the guests followed only in the final minutes of the first half. A mini-run performed by Lundberg, Shved and Shengelia allowed CSKA to go on a big break as leaders – 40:36.
🚨 @Da_Thrill21 closes 1st half with the buzzer! pic.twitter.com/NgizmySvmv
— VTB League (@VTBUL) October 3, 2021
After a 15-minute break, there were no radical changes in the game: the guests continued to own the initiative, and Nizhny set off in pursuit. However, there was no question of a comfortable gap – the score difference was kept within 5-8 points. At the end of the 3 quarter, a three-point hit by Ivan Ukhov set the score at 65:56 by CSKA.
The key moment
At the beginning of the final quarter, the Army team’s defense was again on top, and by the middle of the quarter, Nizhny Novgorod players were able to score only 5 points. Having come off at +21, CSKA turned the rest of the game into a formality – 92:72.
Hero
Tornike Shengelia. Georgian forward tried to make up for the loss of Nikola Milutinov and completed the task perfectly. In 23 minutes, he scored 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals, as well as 23 eff. points.
Numbers
15 – so many steals were made by CSKA players. This is the record of the season and the best performance of the Army team since 2018.
What’s next
Nizhny Novgorod: home game against Astana on October 10
CSKA Astana: road game versus PARMA on October 18
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