CSKA Moscow thumps Sichuan in Euroleague China Tour
Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow is continuing its preseason in China. The Russian giant claimed a massive victory over Chinese Basketball Association winner Sichuan Blue Whales. As part of the Euroleague Basketball China Tour, CSKA dominated from start to finish and left Chengdu with a 49-92 victory.
Aside from showing the gulf between European and Chinese Basketball, the game also showed that CSKA is in good health as it prepares to defend its Euroleague title. If China trails Europe in terms of quality, the country makes up for it in how popular the sport is. 15 million people watched this game on national television and were served a treat of hoops by Moscow.
This was a weakened CSKA Moscow roster, too. All-Euroleague guard Milos Teodosic and the Euroleague Best Defender winner, Kyle Hines, were both missing. However, MVP Nando De Colo was on the hardwood, and it was the Frenchman who paced CSKA with 18 points.
CSKA started hot, with De Colo handing out plenty of dimes and plundering 6 points in the early stages. By the close of ten minutes the Army Men had opened a 10 points lead at 19-29. In the second quarter the visitors kept pressing and started playing exhibition stuff. The Blue Whales were limited to 8 points in Q2 as CSKA raced to a 27-49 lead through the long break.
The hosts picked up in the third act with 7 consecutive points. However, CSKA soon found a rhythm again and extended its lead to 42-68 through thirty minutes. The guests wrapped up the game in fine fashion in the closing stanza, stopping Sichuan at just 7 points.
The Russians had put together an imposing attacking display where all 12 players got on the board. Following De Colo, Vitaly Fridzon and Nikita Kurbanov scored 11 points apiece.
Xu Tao paced the losing effort with 14 points, followed by Mike Harris with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
This is an historic Euroleague season as it will be the first where all teams are guaranteed to play each other. Yesterday, the organization announced that the Final Four will be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul. Building on the historic firsts, this contest was the first Euroleague organized game to be covered in virtual reality.