CKSA Moscow 2008-09 Euroleague Season Review
Ettore Messina Brings CSKA Moscow Back To Final Four
Apr 5, 2009
Even before CSKA Moscow knocked off Maccabi Tel Aviv to capture the 2008 Euroleague crown, the groundwork was laid for a title defense and the Russian club's third continental championship in four seasons.
Messina Re-Signs With CSKA
The day before the final in Madrid, head coach Ettore Messina shrugged off talk of going to Barcelona or the NBA or anywhere else and signed on for one more season with CSKA Moscow. And now Messina has Moscow back to the Final Four for the seventh consecutive time, extending the club's own record. And CSKA's six Euroleague crowns rank it second all-time behind only Real Madrid's eight.
Moscow Core Stays Together
Joining Messina once again is a core that has made CSKA into a European powerhouse. Long-time veteran guards J.R. Holden and Trajan Langdon came back as well as power forward Matjaz Smodis while Ramunas Siskaukas and Nikos Zisis were back on board for their second campaign.
Departures Replaced With Top Experience
Moscow said goodbye to veteran playmaker Theo Papaloukas as well as David Andersen and Marcus Goree but added a trio of experienced veterans to replace them. Zoran Planicic arrived after two straight Final Four appearances with Tau Ceramica. Terrence Morris lost in the 2008 final against CSKA in a Maccabi jersey. And Erazem Lorbek came to Moscow with a Euroleague final appearance from 2004 with Skipper Bologna.
Early Injuries
But Messina needed quite some time before his men could really gel as a team. Smodis missed the first four weeks of the season injured. And in the second game of the Regular Season Holden went down for nearly two months with a broken pinky. Holden did not play again until Week 8 at which point Siskauskas was out injured for a second week. That meant CSKA did not play with its full team until Week 9 of the Regular Season.
First Place In Regular Season
Moscow secured first place in Group D with a 7-3 record but lost two games at home - in Week 8 against Real Madrid 82-78 (Holden's first game back with Siskaukas out) and in Week 10 against Partizan 66-53, a team needing a victory to reach the Top 16.
Big Showing In Top 16
In the Top 16, CSKA cruised to wins at Fenerbahce and against Cibona but lost by 18 points at Montepaschi Siena 74-56. Moscow however roared back in the rematch at home with a resounding 95-71 victory to take control of the group, which CSKA would win with a 5-1 record to return to the Quarterfinal Playoffs.
CKSA Show Partizan Who Is Boss In Quarters
In the quarters, CSKA showed Partizan what it's like playing in Russia, holding Belgrade to just 3 points in the first quarter of a 56-47 Game 1 victory. In Game 2, Partizan managed just 6 points in the first quarter in a 77-50 loss to fall behind 0-2 in the Best-of-Five set. CSKA went into the snake pit of Arena Beograd with more than 20,000 spectators and swept Partizan. Moscow could not stop Novica Velickovic from scoring 26 points. But no one else scored more than 8 points for Partizan while Smodis and Siskaukas combined for 38 points in a 67-56 victory.
Back In Final Four
And CSKA and Messina were back in familiar territory - the Final Four, looking to add 2009 to crowns in 1961, 1963, 1969, 1971, 2006 and 2008.
