CSKA Moscow have booked their spot in next month’s Euroleague Final Four after beating Caja Laboral 94-85 thus winning the series 3-1.
Nenad Krstic, Sonny Weems and Viktor Khryapa all got 19 points to lead CSKA with the latter also pulling down 12 rebounds in victory against a Caja Laboral side that saw three players foul out in controversial circumstances.
Andres Nocioni, Maciej Lampe and Tibor Pleiss were all fouled out of the game despite some of the fouls they were called for not looking like actual fouls at all. Still, there is no denying the Russian side’s place in the Euroleague’s showcase event.
“It was a very tough game,” said CSKA Moscow coach Ettore Messina. “We managed to make it to the Final Four once again and I want to thank my players for the big effort they put throughout the season to achieve this.
“I want to congratulate them, the club and the fans that supported us at home and also on the road. It’s going to be a great experience to be back in the Final Four.”
Thomas Heurtel led Caja Laboral with 17 points.
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The fingertips of Lucas force decider (Series tied 2-2)
Jamon Lucas tipped in a missed three-pointer from Josh Shipp at the buzzer to give Anadolu Efes a 74-73 come-from-behind win over Olympiacos.
In front of nearly 12,000 fans at the Abdi Ipekci Arena, it looked like Olympiacos would play the roll of party crashers as they took a 44-38 lead at the half-time interval and looked in control.
Seeing that a ticket to London was slipping, the Istanbul side staged a fightback which led to incredible scenes when Lucas tipped in the winner.
Jordan Farmar led Anadolu Efes with 15 points, nine of those coming from the free throw line. Acie Law also had 15 for the reigning Euroleague champions who face the possibility of losing their grip on the title in their own backyard next Friday night.
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