Our team was supported in the stands of Moscow’s Megasport stadium that evening not only by Krasnodar fans but also by Lokomotiv FC midfielder Alexey Batrakov. We send our gratitude and respect to all of them!
Both teams gained momentum slowly: in the 3rd minute, the score was just 1:0 in CSKA’s favor after Ivan Ukhov‘s free throw. Then, a seesaw began – the teams took turns scoring 2 points, trading leads 8 times. Vsevolod Ishchenko scored good during this stretch, but quickly picked up three fouls, forcing the coaches to substitute him.
Alen Hadzibegovic disrupted the flow of two-pointers exchange: he blocked Ukhov, and seconds later, Kirill Temirov scored from the perimeter, making it 11:7. Soon, it was 14:11 in our favor, thanks to Anton Kvitkovskikh‘s 3-pointer. CSKA scored several points in a row, and the lead changed 4 more times before the end of the 1st quarter. At the very end of the period, Lokomotiv still created a small lead: Mike Moore and Jeremiah Martin each scored from long range, and Martin added two more points after a solo run – 25:20.
The second quarter began with another good block by Hadzibegovic. However, the Lokomotiv center failed to score in quick transition, and overall, CSKA improved significantly on defense during this stretch: our players didn’t score for almost 4 minutes, until Martin made it from 5 meters out – 27:27. Just a few seconds later, Martin blocked Casper Ware‘s shot, but failed to build on that momentum – instead, the hosts launched a 6:0 run. Makar Konovalov scored from afar, but the gap kept growing. Only Hadzibegovic managed to score for Lokomotiv until the big break, he did it quite reliably, and the game evened out somewhat – the teams went into the locker rooms with the score 39:45 in CSKA’s favor.
A good chase was needed, and Patrick Miller started it, converting a long-range attempt. Antonius Cleveland immediately hit a 3-pointer in response, but Loko was already in the game: Ishchenko hit a very difficult shot, and Miller added 2+1 – 47:50. After the opponent’s miss, Moore grabbed a good rebound, and Martin tied the game. And then it was time for Moore to score – after his adventurous but accurate shot from about 8 meters out, our team took a 53:52 lead. Martin then took over with his isolation plays, but CSKA’s Livio Jean-Charles also started scoring a lot, and at 57:57, Ware stepped up, hitting two straight 3-pointers. For some time, the game was played at a distance of 6-8 points, at some point it even reached “–9”, but hits from Kvitkovskikh and Konovalov smoothed the situation out a bit – 66:72 by the final break.
Just as the game resumed, Konovalov scored 2 more points. CSKA pulled away again, but Miller hit a 3-pointer, and on the next attack, Ishchenko did the same – 76:77. The opponent tried to break away twice, and Hadzibegovic twice reduced the deficit to a minimum. Then Ishchenko grabbed a rebound, three Lokomotiv players broke away on a counterattack, and Kvitkovskikh put us ahead, 83:82, with 3.5 minutes left!
Vladimir Karpenko restored CSKA’s lead, and Jean-Charles shortly after increased the margin to 3 points, but Miller again reduced it to a minimum. Then Cleveland unleashed a moment of its signature chaos: missed two free throws, immediately made up for it by stealing the ball from Martin, and ruined it all by the zone rule violation. Ukhov fouled Miller, who made his free throws, 87:86. Ware grabbed the ball, reached the 3-point line, and hit it – 87:89.
Lokomotiv staged a rather haphazard attack, which, however, was saved by Miller with a very difficult shot just before the 24 seconds buzzer – the score was tied again! Ware and Jean-Charles easily broke through to our basket – 89:91. In the next play, Ishchenko got open in the corner and received the ball, but missed. Miller grabbed the rebound, with 14 more seconds left – just enough for one possession. However, our captain decided to shoot early, missed, and a scramble ensued during the rebound, followed by a foot play by Loko. With five seconds remaining, Ware was fouled on as quickly as possible, but he made both free throws, and nothing else happened in the game.
Lokomotiv is finishing their participation in the intra-season cup in last place in the group with 1 win in 6 games. Some consolation can be found in the fact that we haven’t lost a single game in this tournament by more than “–8”.
Our team now returns to Krasnodar, where they will play Avtodor on March 15th and Pari NN on the 18th. Come support us in the stands of Basket Hall!