CSKA beat PARMA on the road – 89:70 (15:17, 27:18, 25:16, 22:19)
Top scorers
PARMA: Lorenzo Williams (16), Artem Zabelin (14 + 6 rebounds), Konstantin Bulanov (11).
CSKA: Mike James (27 + 5 rebounds), Daniel Hackett (20 + 5 assists), Semen Antonov (9).
Story
CSKA (6-3) paced up after a bad start, but last week lost in Kazan. PARMA (3-6) also faced troubles in the beginning of the season, but later got 2 consecutive victories including road win over Zenit. Perm players found their rhythm and with support of thousand fans fought CSKA in the first quarter: 17:15. In the second period, Mike James stepped up: he scored 9 points in 2 minutes and a total of 13 in 2Q. With this small run CSKA managed to gain a lead (38:32) and win the first half (42:35).
After the halftime break CSKA showed perfect defense. Six minutes in the third quarter made a huge impact: the Army club allowed only 6 points, and led by Nikita Kurbanov, Andrey Vorontsevich and Daniel Hackett, made a 17:6 run to reach 18-point lead – 59:41.
Key moment
In the final quarter, PARMA brought the intrigue back to life. After shots of Adas Juskevicius and Maxim Grigoryev, the hosts got to 11-point distance several times (61:72, 63:74, 65:76). However, CSKA survived that rush supported by a giant crowd at the arena. With stunning hits of Mike James, Johannes Voigtmann and Semen Antonov, CSKA didn’t allow single-digit margin, The Red-blues are still chasing Khimki,
Stat
6536 – new season best attendance.
Hero
Mike James. The American outperformed personal best in the League – 27 points. He made 10 of 16 field goals.
Next
PARMA: December 14 at Lokomotiv-Kuban.
CSKA: December 15 vs Astana.
