Before tip-off of Game 2 of the VTB League playoffs at Megasport Arena, CSKA hosted Lokomotiv Kuban and held a special pregame ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of its 2006 EuroLeague title.
The scene that drew the most attention came before the ceremony even began: Theodoros Papaloukas entered the court at Megasport Arena riding a horse. Papaloukas, who was named Final Four MVP for his performances in the 2006 season, was among several members of CSKA’s 2006 team present for the tribute.
Ettore Messina, who coached CSKA to that 2006 crown, was in the arena and applauded during the moment. CSKA president Andrey Vatutin recorded the scene on his phone as the club staged the anniversary recognition ahead of the playoff game.
The 2006 title, won in Prague, was CSKA’s first modern-era EuroLeague championship. That Final Four run included a semifinal victory over Barcelona and a final win against Maccabi Tel Aviv, a result that ended a 35-year wait for a EuroLeague crown for the club.
The club framed the celebration as a tribute to its iconic 2006 generation. Several members of that team attended the ceremony at Megasport Arena, linking the memory of the Prague Final Four to the present-day roster and the ongoing VTB League playoff series.
The timing underlined two competing currents for CSKA on the same night: a commemoration of a historic team and the immediate business of postseason basketball. The ceremony took place before the tip-off of Game 2 of the VTB League playoffs against Lokomotiv Kuban, leaving the symbolic moment to settle before the teams returned to competition on the court.
For CSKA, the anniversary was more than pageantry. It was a public reminder of the club’s breakthrough in 2006 under Messina, the performances that earned Papaloukas Final Four MVP honors, and the sweep of the Final Four in Prague that included Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The 20th-anniversary ceremony brought that chapter into the present at Megasport Arena just hours before the playoff game resumed.
The immediate next act was the Game 2 matchup that followed the ceremony. The celebration linked the club’s history to the present roster and provided a moment of recognition for the 2006 generation before the VTB League playoffs moved forward.
