CSKA Moscow's double defeat of Panathinaikos in the group stage has no bearing on the "special game" of their Euroleague Final Four semifinal, CSKA center Nenad Krstic warned on Thursday.
CSKA face the Greek champions for the third time this season in the Euroleague semifinal Saturday.
The Muscovites won the first two games, a narrow 78-76 victory in Athens in November and a more emphatic 91-75 in Moscow in December during the first group stage.
“It’ll be a tough game but we know how to play games like this,” former New Jersey Nets star Krstic said.
“We’ve met them twice already this season, but those games have no significance because the Final Four will be a special game. These games are decided by one throw, or one player.”
Former CSKA and Russian national team point guard J.R. Holden said that the current team is more than capable of success.
“The players now gathered at CSKA are strong enough and ready to achieve some special things, like winning the Euroleague. I’m a big fan of this team, I’ve gone out on court with many of them and I’m pleased at their success,” said Holden, who won nine Russian titles and two Euroleague titles with CSKA from 2002 to 2011.
The semifinal will be a clash of two European basketball heavyweights, with the Moscow team making its ninth appearance at the Final Four in the last decade, while Panathinaikos is the reigning champion and most successful Euroleague team in the modern era, with six titles.
Panathinaikos has even greater domination of Greek basketball than CSKA in Russia, taking 14 of the last 15 domestic titles.
CSKA will be chasing its third Euroleague championship in the modern era in Istanbul, and its first title since 2008. The other semifinal pits Greek team Olympiacos against Barcelona.
