“Tsmoki-Minsk” -- "Peristeri" 87:85 (23:25, 26:15, 21:16, 7:21, 10:8).
The starting five
"Tsmoki-Minsk": Angelo Warner, Jason Clark, Yauheni Beliankou, Darol Hernandez-Zinenko, Stefan Jankovic.
"Peristeri”: Dimitris Katsivelis, Ian Miller, Terran Petteway, Linos Chrysikopoulos, Chad Brown.
Game scenario
The “Dragons” certainly got off to a poor start to the game. The visitors successfully put their shooters Pettewayand Chrysikopoulos in front of the arc, which put “Peristeri” ahead 13:2 with three long-range shots. Rostislav Vergun had to make quick adjustments, both in his five-man lineup and tactics. Gradually, the unpleasant deficit began to fade. Trastsinetski played great at the interception and Upshaw converted the dunk. By the end of the quarter Tsmoki-Minsk had nearly caught up with their opponent, 23:25.
In the second period, the citizens tried to avoid mistakes on defense, although it wasn't easy to contain the “Yellows'” power plays under the basket. However, “Tsmoki-Minsk's” offensive plays were more impressive. Jankovic scored from the free-throw line to even the score at 28:28. On 15 minutes, Upshaw overpowered his defender and gave the home team its first lead, 34:32.
"Peristeri” tried to regain the initiative with their tried-and-true weapon of long-range shooting, but their accuracy was poor. The Greek team didn't shine on free throws either, though they made six more - the same number of missed shots. But the “Dragons” shot almost flawlessly from the line, 10 of 11.
They played particularly well toward the end of the first half. Beliankou shot to the basket from the perimeter, while Jankovic and Upshaw terrorized Peristeri's centers in the paint. "Tsmoki-Minsk” went on a seven-point run and in the final seconds Warner slyly forced a foul on himself while shooting from beyond the arc. Warner converted three free throws, closing out the first half with a nice score, 49:40.
After the game resumed, “Tsmoki-Minsk” fully owned the initiative and dictated their terms. The distance between the teams steadily increased and quickly became double-digit. Hernandez-Zinenko gave the visitors an airplane day and put the ball in the basket in cold blood. Warner cut through the “Peristeri” defense like a knife through butter and scored. Clark made a great shot from beyond the arc. After trailing 7:1, the Miners held an 18-point lead (68:50).
The final ten minutes were a frantic assault on the basket, while our players were catastrophically unlucky on offense: for more than six minutes they couldn't find any points. Unfortunately, their comfortable margin of victory faded away – 73:73. Neither team was able to pull out a win in regulation time. Overtime was 77:77.
The denouement
The extra five minutes saw mutually inconclusive offensive plays. “Peristeri” was consistently a little ahead, but the “Dragons” showed their mettle in the final seconds. With their centers gone (Apshaw, Hernandez-Zinenko and Jankovic all received foul shots), “Tsmoki-Minsk” concentrated on turnovers, which were successful. First Beliankou and then Bliznyuk hit slalom passes, against which their opponents were powerless. The final attack came from “Peristeri”, but Petteway’s long-range shot missed the target. The win!
Prominent Roles
Darol Hernandez-Zinenko had the most efficient game for the “Dragons”. The forward had 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots with an efficiency rating of 24.
The number
12 - That's how many times “Peristeri” players missed from the free-throw line. All in all, they made 35 free throws during the game.
The most productive
"Tsmoki-Minsk": Jason Clark – 15 points , Robert Upshaw - 14 + 2 rb, Yauheni Beliankou - 13 + 4 rb + 2 passes, Angelo Warner - 11 + 8 pass + 4 rb, Darol Hernandez-Zinenko - 10 + 8 rb + 4 passes.
"Peristeri": Terran Petteway – 20 points , Erik McCree - 14 + 6 rb, Chad Brown - 14 + 6 rb, Ian Miller - 11 + 6 rb + 5 passes + 3 st.
Rostislav Vergun:
– First of all, it was hard game for my players, we really been desperate for this win, because we had a big losses, when we had found a way to win. if we are talking about this FIBA Europe Cup, compare with previous one, in the first game we are good. i think we could do better, but for us it's a first week's game and not everybody be mentally ready for this, i hope soon our key players improve game by game and couple good words about our opening. Solid fight, thank you
Next game
In the second round of the FIBA Europe Cup “Tsmoki-Minsk” will play in Krailsheim, Germany on the 20th of October against the club with the same name. The game will start at 21.00 on Belarusian time.