Lokomotiv Kuban beat CSKA 97-88 in overtime in Semifinals Game 1 on the road, stealing the opener of the best-of-seven series and taking a 1-0 lead.
Alen Hadzibegovic paced the visitors with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Lokomotiv outscored CSKA 14-5 in the extra period after Mike Moore tied the score at 83-83 with a three-pointer in the final minute of regulation.
Vsevolod Ischenko added 19 points and Patrick Miller finished with 17 points and eight assists for Lokomotiv; Moore ended with 11. Livio Jean-Charles led CSKA with 15 points and six rebounds, Antonius Cleveland scored 14 and Samson Ruzhentsev had 13. Nikita Kurbanov recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds for CSKA.
Lokomotiv shot a season-best 67.4% on two-point attempts, a dominant inside performance that contrasted sharply with CSKA's 41.2% on twos and both teams converting below 30% from three-point range. Jean-Charles also reached 2,000 points in the VTB League during the game.
After the finish, Lokomotiv Kuban said: "This means the current team has a great example of how to believe in yourself and work hard to win." The club added, "We have a tough series ahead of us against the strong team. So, we must play every game with maximum focus from the first minute to the last and be prepared for a tough, physical game." Lokomotiv Kuban also said: "I expect us to play with passion and commitment, and to show a good basketball."
The win doubled as Lokomotiv’s first victory over CSKA this season; CSKA had swept the six meetings between the teams earlier in the campaign. Those regular-season matchups included three lopsided results decided by 40, 29 and 30 points, and CSKA entered the semifinals with a regular-season winning percentage of 92.5% after an overwhelmingly dominant run this year.
For Hadzibegovic, the game was his eighth double-double of the season and his first for Lokomotiv; Kurbanov’s 12-and-11 was his first double-double of the season. The semifinal opener also revived a dramatic precedent: three years ago Lokomotiv Kuban beat CSKA 103-100 in overtime in Game 7 of a semifinal series to advance to the finals.
The most vivid turning point came in the closing minute of regulation, when Mike Moore’s three sent the game to overtime and Lokomotiv then outscored CSKA 14-5 in the extra frame. That late shot and the visitors’ efficiency on two-point attempts exposed the gap between the teams in the paint and on crucial possessions.
CSKA’s inability to convert inside and the combined cold shooting from distance created the tension that undid a team that had lost only three times during the entire championship and finished last season with a 93.7% regular-season winning percentage in the VTB United League.
The series now moves to Moscow for Game 2 on Thursday, and the matchup will test whether CSKA can correct its two-point defense and stanch Lokomotiv’s inside scoring. If CSKA cannot raise its two-point efficiency and contain Hadzibegovic in Moscow on Thursday, Lokomotiv could take control of the cska moscow bc lokomotiv kuban series and force a deeper rethink of the favorite’s path to the final.
