The chance to make a gap

Our team went to Vitoria by Aeroflot charter flight for the final game of the calendar year.

Pre-game breakdown

Leo Westermann continues his post-surgery rehab.

Baskonia’s Jordan McRae, Ilimane Diop and Patricio Garino remain sidelined due to injuries.

Zalgiris victory against Olympiacos gave CSKA a chance to return the sole lead in the EuroLeague regular season standings.

Pre-game quotes

Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:

As I said many times, all games in EuroLeague are tough and important. It is always difficult to play in Vitoria. Baskonia overcame many changes roster-wise and coaching-wise, they came back to high level, they play fast and aggressive basketball. We have to show our full strength, to approach the game with concentration and motivation to match our opponent’s strong sides.

Sergio Rodriguez, CSKA guard:

It is always difficult to play against Baskonia. They feel very comfortable playing at home in front of their crowd. Baskonia is a big team, they prove it with their history and current results, they are playing really well after coaching change, they feel confident and they will be highly-motivated to face CSKA.

Close relations

Sergio Rodriguez played under Baskonia Coach Pedro Martinez at Estudiantes Madrid during the 2006-07 season.

Nando De Colo and Baskonia forward Toko Shengelia were teammates at Valencia Basket during the 2009-10 season and won the 2010 EuroCup title together.

Important numbers

Coach Dimitris Itoudis has used 11 different players in the CSKA starting lineup so far this season. No player has started every game.

Nando De Colo has scored in double figures and posted a performance index rating in double figures in 10 of his last 11 EuroLeague games. He is ranked second among qualified EuroLeague players this season in average performance index rating with 19.4 per game and third in scoring with 16.6 points per contest this season.

De Colo leads all qualified EuroLeague players in free-throw accuracy with 94.6%. He is the EuroLeague career leader in free throw accuracy at 93.47%.

De Colo has recorded at least 1 steal in 11 of his last 12 EuroLeague games.

De Colo and Kyle Hines are tied for fourth in the EuroLeague this season with 1.4 steals per game.

Kyle Hines has blocked at least 1 shot in nine of his last 10 EuroLeague games.

Kyle Hines has not missed a EuroLeague game since January 2014 and has appeared in 125 consecutive games for CSKA in that span.

Kyle Hines is ranked fifth on the all-time EuroLeague charts with 415 offensive rebounds for his career. He needs 6 more to catch Kerem Gonlum (421) for fourth place.

Cory Higgins has scored in double figures in eight of his last nine EuroLeague games.

Othello Hunter is ranked fifth in the EuroLeague in rebounding with 6.4 per game this season. He is second in the league in offensive rebounds with 3.4 per game.

Sergio Rodriguez has made multiple three-pointers in seven of his last eight EuroLeague games.

Sergio Rodriguez is second in the EuroLeague this season with 2.8 three-pointers per game.

Sergio Rodriguez is eighth on the all-time EuroLeague assists charts with 826. Brose Bamberg’s Nikos Zisis is seventh with 847 and counting.

Vitaly Fridzon needs 2 more three-pointers to reach 200 for his EuroLeague career.

Victor Khryapa ranks 10th on the all-time EuroLeague charts with 1,062 career rebounds. Former Panathinaikos star Mike Batiste is in ninth place with 1,117.

Khryapa is ranked eighth on the all-time charts with 240 career steals. Real Madrid’s Jonas Maciulis and Juan Carlos Navarro of Barcelona Lassa are tied for sixth with 244 and counting.

Khryapa is sixth on the all-time charts with 161 blocks for his career. He needs 1 more to catch Mirza Begic (162) for fourth place.

Past matchups

Wins-losses: 24-7

2001-02 – Euroleague. Top 16: TAU Ceramica – CSKA: 73-87 (+14)
2001-02 – Euroleague. Top 16: CSKA – TAU Ceramica: 73-90 (-17)
2003-04 – Euroleague. Top 16: TAU Ceramica – CSKA: 77-80 (+3)
2003-04 – Euroleague. Top 16: CSKA – TAU Ceramica: 84-82 (+2)
2004-05 – Euroleague. Regular season: CSKA – TAU Ceramica: 88-83 (+5)
2004-05 – Euroleague. Regular season: TAU Ceramica – CSKA: 81-85 (+4)
2004-05 – Euroleague. Final Four. Semifinal: CSKA – TAU Ceramica: 78-85 (-7)
2005-06 – Euroleague. Top 16: CSKA – TAU Ceramica: 82-76 (+6)
2005-06 – Euroleague. Top 16: TAU Ceramica – CSKA: 70-63 (-7)
2007-08 – Euroleague. Regular season: TAU Ceramica – CSKA: 76-85 (+9)
2007-08 – Euroleague. Regular season: CSKA – TAU Ceramica: 70-62 (+8)
2007-08 – Euroleague. Final Four. Semifinal: TAU Ceramica – CSKA: 79-83 (+4)
2009-10 – Euroleague. Regular season: Caja Laboral – CSKA: 67-71 (+4)
2009-10 – Euroleague. Regular season: CSKA – Caja Laboral: 84-83 (+1)
2009-10 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: CSKA – Caja Laboral: 86-63 (+23)
2009-10 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: CSKA – Caja Laboral: 83-63 (+20)
2009-10 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: Caja Laboral – CSKA: 66-53 (-13)
2009-10 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: Caja Laboral – CSKA: 70-74 (+4)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: CSKA – Caja Laboral: 89-78 (+11)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: CSKA – Caja Laboral: 90-68 (+22)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: Caja Laboral – CSKA: 93-72 (-21)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: Caja Laboral – CSKA: 85-94 (+9)
2014-15 – Euroleague. Top 16: CSKA – Laboral Kutxa: 99-90 (+9)
2014-15 – Euroleague. Top 16: Laboral Kutxa – CSKA: 74-81 (+7)
2015-16 – Euroleague. Top 16: Laboral Kutxa – CSKA: 81-71 (-10)
2015-16 – Euroleague. Top 16: CSKA – Laboral Kutxa: 90-78 (+12)
2016-17 – Euroleague. Regular Season: CSKA – Baskonia: 112-84 (+28)
2016-17 – Euroleague. Regular Season: Baskonia – CSKA: 79-78 (-1)
2016-17 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: CSKA – Baskonia: 98-90 (+8)
2016-17 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: CSKA – Baskonia: 84-82 (+2)
2016-17 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: Baskonia – CSKA: 88-90 (+2)

Short dossier

Baskonia Vitoria, Spain
Founded: 1959
Colors: red, dark blue, white
Home arena: Fernando Buesa Arena (15,504)
President: Jose Antonio Querejeta
Head coach: Pedro Martinez
Website: www.baskonia.com
Trophy case: 2-time Spanish champion (2002, 08); 5-time Copa del Rey winner (1995, 99, 2002, 04, 06); 4-time Spanish SuperCup winner (2005, 06, 07, 08); Saporta Cup winner (1996)