Intro
Early on, the game was full of contrasts. CSKA raced to a 10-point lead before Khimki’s Game 1 star, Zoran Planinic, scored nine straight, coupled with tight defense, to slice the advantage to just three points, 15-12, by the end of the quarter.

But Khimki couldn’t catch up all the way. Once Rimas Kurtinaitis gave Planinic a breather on the bench, the Yellow and Blue lost their efficiency on offense, going scoreless for six minutes. When he checked back into the game, the offense was almost beyond repair. In fact, Khimki scored its first points in the second quarter with just over three minutes left to play as CSKA’s lead returned to double digits. All that the visitors could muster in the quarter was an Egor Vyaltsev 3-pointer and Paul Davis free throws. Luckily for Khimki, CSKA also failed to light up the scoreboard, but the home team still held a 27-17 lead heading into the break.

Rimas Kurtinaitis was forced to resort to desperate measures in the second half, including an appearance from little-used sub Dmitriy Khvostov. Nothing he did helped. The Army Men’s lead neither grew nor shrank, while both clubs shot miserably from the field. The two teams combined for just 24 points in the third quarter. Given the defensive nature of the game, Khimki’s 41-27 deficit heading into the fourth quarter looked nearly impossible to overcome.

Turning Point
Khimki’s hopes for a comeback dissolved early in the final period. The Red and Blue finally put together some efficient offense thanks to Victor Khryapa, Vladimir Micov and Nenad Krstic and pulled ahead by almost 20 points. The visitors played hard, but couldn’t make it a game down the stretch. After this comfortable Game 3 win, CSKA looks like the favorite in the best-of-five series.

Star of the Game
Victor Khrypa. The Army Men’s forward was excellent as always tonight. He played smart on defense and held the key to CSKA’s offense. Khryapa both scored and dished to teammates throughout the night.

Stat of the Game
5. Number of points scored by Rimas Kurtinaitis’s men in the second quarter.

Quotes
Khimki head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis:
— Congratulations to CSKA on this win. We looked tired and sluggish compared to our opponent. We lost in terms of energy and aggressiveness. We played very poorly, while CSKA played well enough to win. The series is now 1-2. We’ll study today’s mistakes and go to battle again tomorrow.

CSKA head coach Ettore Messina:
— We should be proud of our players… They played with a lot of effort despite all of our injuries. Sasha Kaun and Sonny Weems played through pain today. We played very hard against a team with great character. I don’t think that tomorrow will be any easier. I don’t the series is over yet. We’ll get ready.

Top Performers
CSKA: Victor Khryapa – 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists; Nenad Krstic – 12 points, five rebounds; Vladimir Micov – nine points, four assists; Andrey Vorontsevich – eight points, seven rebounds.

Khimki: Paul Davis – 12 points; Zoran Planinic – 11 points; Egor Vyaltsev – 10 points.

To Be Continued…
Game 4 in the Khimki – CSKA series is set for Wednesday, May 29 in Moscow. The game tips off at 7:00 pm local time. You can watch live on Rossiya 2 and VTB-League.com.