Lokomotiv Kuban advanced to the VTB Super Cup semifinals with a 100-98 victory over CSKA after overtime.
The first quarter belonged to Moscow’s team. Lokomotiv struggled to find an offensive rhythm and, on the defensive end, couldn’t keep up. Due to all of these factors, the ‘army men’ were the ones who struck first.
The second quarter was somewhat more uncertain, as Lokomotiv gradually started playing more fluidly on offense. This improvement was reflected in the halftime score, reducing CSKA’s lead to just three points.
The third part of the game turned into an offensive spectacle for Lokomotiv Kuban. They scored a remarkable 32 points, asserting themselves in the rest of the match. On the other side, Casper Ware was simply incredible, and the opponent had no solution for him.
He scored from all positions, keeping CSKA alive. Emil Rajkovic’s team changed their approach, playing much tighter and more aggressively in the fourth quarter. As a result, they combined for only 29 points in that period, but the winner was still uncertain after 40 minutes.
It was only in overtime that Lokomotiv finally broke CSKA’s resistance, subdued Ware, and secured a spot in the Super Cup semifinals.
The standout players for the winners were Vladislav Emchenko with 22 points and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell with 18. Ware led the losing side with an astonishing 44 points.
It’s worth noting that CSKA has not been playing in Europe for several seasons, as EuroLeague sanctioned them due to the political situation in Russia and Ukraine.