It was an historic win. The last time Olimpia won in Moscow against CSKA happened in 2010, that same year defeated CSKA for the last time. Tonight, it was a 84-76 dominant win. Olimpia never trailed, led by 20 after a huge first quarter, a first quarter for the ages, closed 30-10. CSKA attempted the comeback many times, and Olimpia found a way to respond every single time. “We knew they were going to make a run and we just had to stick to the game plan and We kept our composure,” Kevin Punter said. KP scored 32 points, setting his new career-high. He made two big threes at the end of the second quarter to gain a 13-point lead back, erasing CSKA’s rally. He made two more in the fourth quarter to push CSKA behind by nine.

“I think we started well in the first quarter – Coach Ettore Messina said -. That kind of set the tone. I think my players were very good and very focused in facing the comeback of CSKA.Our defense was, for most of the game, of a good level. And our aggressiveness on offense to find the open shooter was good.” Olimpia shot well, had 19 assists, six made by Sergio Rodriguez, fought in the paint, and protected the rim very well. Jeremy Evans’ save at the last second in the first quarter was huge, Jeff Brooks did the same at the end of the third and on the ensuing break, Gigi Datome made the corner three to extend the lead to 15.

Kyle Hines had three oustanding blocks, too. “We came out in the first quarter and we were able to get a big lead – he said – and we were able to maintain that. I think it was our defense and our rebounding. We got a lot of rebounds in the second half that were able to keep them at one possession.” While Punter had a game to be remembered for a long time, Shavon Shields’ hot streak continued in Moscow. It was his seventh consecutive double-digit game.

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