CSKA Moscow reaches Final Four

There was just a single game in Europe’s elite competition on Wednesday as CSKA Moscow booked its place in Euroleague Final Four. This half of the draw also included Fenerbahce Istanbul and Maccabi Tel Aviv, but Fener wrapped their series 3-0 on the weekend. CSKA was made to wait a little longer to wrap its series after Panathinaikos Athens clawed back a game in the Greek capital on Monday.

The Greek powerhouse had home advantage again this evening, but this time CSKA Moscow moved through the gears to progress. Fenerbahce and CSKA will now await the winners of the Real Madrid/Anadolu Efes and Barcelona/Olympiacos ties in the Euroleague Final Four.

Panathinaikos Athens vs. CSKA Moscow, 55-74
CSKA put together a road masterclass and dominated Panathinaikos in the cauldron of Athens, easing past the Greek giant to make the Euroleague Final Four for the Twelfth time in thirteen years. It was a vintage display by the Russians as they nulled The Greens in their own backyard after Panathinaikos had snatched Game 3 on Monday.

The visitors started on fire and controlled Panathinaikos at both buckets, easing to a comfortable 11-21 lead through the opening 10 minutes. In the second frame Panathinaikos woke up and the hosts clawed back the double digit deficit with a 21-16 charge that made it 32-37 through halftime. CSKA Moscow still had the initiative though and the Russians went again in the third act and drained 23 points while keeping Panathinaikos at 12 points through the period. At the final split the score was 44-60 in favour of the away team and the fourth stanza the Moscow contingent squeezed out Panathinaikos to claim the game.

Nando De Colo continued his strong Play-off form to lead CSKA Moscow with 18 points, while Andrei Kirilenko was good for 13 points, Kyle Hines 12 points, and Sonny Weems 11 points.

Panathinaikos struggled to find high scorers, but Nikos Pappas led with 11 points, followed by Loukas Mavrokefalidis and James Gist with 10 points apiece.