CSKA's Siskauskas takes it to the hoop
צילום: רויטרס
Basketball: CSKA Moscow defeats Maccabi TA to claim 6th Euroleague crown
Russian powerhouse beats Israeli champion 91-77; Final MVP Trajan Langdon scores 21, Bynum sinks in game-high 23 in losing effort
MADRID - CSKA Moscow were crowned European champions for the sixth time after beating Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv 91-77 in the Euroleague final on Sunday.
Final MVP Trajan Langdon top scored for the Russians, who were appearing in their third consecutive final, with 21 points while Jon Robert Holden weighed in with 14.
Will Bynum's game-high 23 points failed to stop Maccabi slipping to a defeat in a re-run of their 2006 final loss to CSKA in Prague.
CSKA's Matjaz Smodis dunks on Terence Morris and Omri Caspi (Photo: AP)
Roared on by the event's largest contingent of travelling supporters Maccabi felt like the home side in Madrid, but it was CSKA who lead by a point at the end of the first and second quarters.
Back-to-back three-point shots from guard Holden helped CSKA into a commanding nine-point lead at the start of the third.
Maccabi struggled to cut the deficit and their night was summed up when Alex Garcia, their top scorer in the semi-final victory over Montepaschi Siena, stole the ball from Holden, went coast to coast, and fluffed a two-point lay-up with no one near him.
Maccabi were down 57-63 going into the fourth and a run of 10 points without reply from CSKA, with seven from Matjaz Smodis, effectively sealed the game in the period's first four minutes.
Siena wins 3rd-place playoff game
Earlier, Italy's Montepaschi Siena won the third-place playoff game with a 97-93 overtime victory against local side Tau Ceramica.
Siena's Ksistof Lavrinovic notched a game-high 19 points and was backed by Terrell McIntyre with 16, as Simone Pianigiani's side matched their 2003 achievement in a nailbiting finish.
The Spaniards edged to a 41-38 halftime lead, but the Italians fought back to level at 61 apiece going into the fourth period.
Seven straight points from Tiago Splitter put Tau on the brink of victory at 79-78 with a minute to go, but a foul on Lavrinovic sent the Lithuanian centre to the free throw line. He only managed to level the scores, missing his second shot.
Zoran Planinic burst down the court on the counter but his buzzer-time effort bounced off the rim and the match went into overtime.
A Lavrinovic shot from outside the arc gave Siena a two-point lead in the 43rd and another six points without reply made the decisive break as they held on for the win.
Pete Mickeal top scored for Tau with 16 but could not prevent his side finishing fourth for the second year in a row.
