European SuperCup. Part I

Again, the continental season starts with the clash of EuroLeague and EuroCup triumphants. Our team went to Valencia.

Pre-game breakdown

The Army Men switched to practicing on afternoons to keep up the rhythm before the first game of the season.

Kosta Koufos is still out with foot injury. Still he travelled to Spain together with his teammates by Aeroflot charter flight. Ivan Ukhov and Andrey Lopatin stayed in Moscow for work-outs.

Valencia was undefeated at home in the EuroCup last season. Its last home loss in European competition came on March 8, 2018 in the EuroLeague. CSKA has aced its EuroLeague opener in each of the last eight seasons and aims to keep that streak going. Expect an extraordinary basketball atmosphere at Pabellon Fuente de San Luis.

Pre-game quotes

Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:

We start with a road trip, and we play against very aggressive team with great roster. They’ve already played some tough games, they play together many years, their core is not touched. They are EuroCup winners and their court is tough to play on. We know what it means to play in EuroLeague: it’s a marathon where each game is like a final, everybody has high expectations. Valencia plays high tempo, given by their guards and supported by bigs. They have big lineups, they are athletic, they use many different schemes.

Andrey Vorontsevich, CSKA forward:

We are in good mood and highly motivated. We go to Spain where we will face the aggressive team with good roster. The opponents will run, play physical, shoot from every spot. We are going to fight, we believe in ourselves.

“Relativity” connections

Valencia swingman Fernando San Emeterio and CSKA guard Mike James were teammates at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz during the 2014-15 season.

Johannes Voigtmann and Aaron Doornekamp were teammates at Fraport Skyliners from 2014 to 2016.

Ron Baker and Maurice Ndour played for New York Knicks and its G-League affiliate Winchester Knicks in 2016-17 season.

Important numbers

Mike James has scored in double figures in 36 of his last 37 games.

Andrey Vorontsevich has made 13 straight free throws in EuroLeague games dating back to March 2017.

Janis Strelnieks has made at least 1 three-pointer in five straight EuroLeague appearances.

Strelnieks is ranked seventh all-time in free throw accuracy at 90.63%.

Latvian guard needs 8 assists to reach 300 for his EuroLeague career.

Kyle Hines ranks fourth all-time with 208 blocked shots. Alex Tyus is third with 209.

Hines is in second place in EuroLeague history with 513 offensive rebounds. Felipe Reyes is the all-time leader with 695.

The captain has moved into eighth place in competition history with 1,152 total rebounds. Kerem Gonlum is seventh with 1,189.

Past matchups

Wins/losses: 2-2
2010-11 Euroleague Regular Season
Valencia – CSKA: 82-57 (-25)
CSKA – Valencia: 73-63 (+10)
2017-18 Euroleague Regular Season
CSKA – Valencia: 94-67 (+27)
Valencia – CSKA: 103-99 (-4)

Short dossier

Valencia Basket, Spain
Founded: 1986
Colors: orange, white, black
Home court: Pabellon Fuente De San Luis (9,000)
President: Vicente J. Solà Sanz
Head coach: Jaume Ponsarnau
Website: www.valenciabasket.com
Trophy case: EuroCup winner (2003, 2010, 2014), Spanish League champion (2016-17), Spanish Cup winner (1998), Spanish SuperCup winner (2017)