BELGRADE, April 14 (Reuters) - Six-times Euroleague winners CSKA Moscow and noveaux riche Fenerbahce Istanbul closed in on the competition's Final Four after taking commanding 2-0 leads against their rivals in the best-of-five quarter-final series on Thursday.
CSKA ground out a 77-76 home win over plucky Red Star Belgrade while Fenerbahce vindicated several years of heavy investment in a 100-78 whitewash of holders Real Madrid in Turkey.
Serbia playmaker Milos Teodosic sank Red Star with a crucial three-pointer in the final minute, swinging a see-saw contest the Russian side's way.
"They pushed us down to the wire and we now have to get ready to play our best basketball in the next game," said CSKA's power forward Kyle Hines, who topped the scoring with 19 points.