European Champions' Cup Play-Offs 1962-1963

The sixth edition of the European Cup has had an unprecedented outcome in the history of this competition. For the first time, it took three matches to establish the possession of the precious continental tournament, yet Soviet basketball continues to hold European dominance.

When Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow took to the court of the Fronton 'Fiesta Alegre' on the memorable night of 23 July, not even the most optimistic of Spanish fans could have dreamed of winning the European Cup, at best they were hoping for a short win in the first leg. The beginnings of the match seemed to corroborate this pessimism: Madrid could not get into the game, their pivots were drowned under the hoop by the greater corpulence of their rivals and the iron marking on Sevillano and Emiliano prevented a comfortable outside shot. The balance was maintained because the Soviet attack also lacked effectiveness. This situation began to change in the final minutes of the first half, when the Armenian base Alachachian began to be loaded with personal fouls and Real Madrid was able to develop its fast counter-attack, so that first it overcame the disadvantage in the score and then it increased the difference until a hopeful 35-26 at the break.

In the second half, the Merengue team continued to build up speed in their attacks. Burgess and Luyk were impregnable under the board, while Sainz and Durand alternated in the direction of the game. The stifling Madrid defence left the Muscovites with no options, as they could not find comfortable shooting positions and were victims of fulminating counter-attacks. Real Madrid reached a maximum gap of 30 points with a two-handed dunk by Luyk (73-43, min. 32), but fatigue and the accumulation of personal fouls took their toll on the Madrid players in the last ten minutes, and this meant that the margin was cut to just 12 points. In the final stages of the match, the Spanish players showed their strength to win by 17 points (86-69), which gives them some hope for the return match in Moscow.

Real Madrid - CSKA Moscow 86-69
Real Madrid: Sainz, Sevillano 26, Emiliano 24, Luyk 14, Burgess 21, Durand 1, Alocen, Decartin
CSKA Moscow: Alachachian 2, Travin 15, Gennadi Volnov (201-F-1939) 6, Korneev 10, Petrov 7, Astakhov 8, Bochkarjov 8, Zubkov 4, Khrynin 3, Lipso 6

At the Lenin Stadium Sports Palace in Moscow, in front of 20,000 excited and screaming spectators, CSKA's players launched a fierce attack from the very first minute, ready not to be surprised as they were in the first leg. To do so, they forced Real Madrid to make an effort in defence, so that their players were soon charged with personnel. At the end of the first half, the Soviet lead was already 14 points (48-34) and this, together with Emiliano's ankle injury, seemed to paint a black picture for the Madrid players at the restart.

In the second half, Emiliano could rejoin the game, and the match entered a sustained phase in which the elimination remained equal, with short advantages for both teams. With less than a minute to go, the Moscow difference was 20 points (91-71), so it seemed that CSKA's victory was going to be clear. But with just seconds to go, Durand is fouled. The first free kick goes in cleanly, while the second deliberately sends it against the rim so that Burgess, emerging between the Soviet towers, hits the ball: it was 91-74, a result that forced a third play-off match.

CSKA Moscow - Real Madrid 91-74
CSKA: Alachachian 3, Travin 16, Gennadi Volnov 8, Korneev 11, Petrov 7, Astakhov 9, Bochkarjov 14, Zubkov, Khrynin 17, Lipso 6, Semjonov, Kulkov
Real Madrid: Sainz 6, Sevillano 10, Emiliano 18, Luyk 22, Burgess 17, Durand 1, Alocen, Decartin

In the play-off match between CSKA and Real Madrid, played just twenty-four hours after the second leg, logic finally prevailed. The Russians repeated their approach, based on physically crushing their opponents until they were exhausted. This time, Real Madrid had no chance to defend and were clearly defeated on the field, although the true merit of the Madrid players was to have gone so far against the unquestionable power of the Soviet machine of CSKA.

Courtesy of BasketFinals

CSKA Moscow - Real Madrid 99-80
CSKA Moscow: Alachachian 8, Travin 14, Gennadi Volnov 26, Korneev 16, Petrov 6, Astakhov 2, Bochkarjov 4, Zubkov 2, Khrynin 3, Lipso 10, Semjonov 8
Real Madrid: Sainz 7, Sevillano 14, Emiliano 21, Luyk 14, Burgess 20, Durand 2, Alocen 2