Minsk residents held the final match of the first stage of the VTB United League against Avtodor in Saratov today. Due to a minor sprain, Daniil Kasko missed the game, and Dmitrii Kuratnik and Artsem Sekushenka are also recovering. Speaking in an incomplete composition, the Minsk residents could not win the long-awaited victory. The final score of the meeting – 105:63 (32:16, 26:21, 27:15, 20:11).
Starting five:
MINSK: Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, Grigorii Motovilov, Vadzim Stubeda, Uladzislau Mikulski, Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo.
Avtodor: Thornwell Sindarius, Dusan Beslac, Alexander Petenev, Rayshon Hammonds, Malik Newman.
The course of the game
Already from the first quarter, the owners of the site managed to get a comfortable advantage in the score, making jerks of 8 points. Grigorii Motovilov turned out to be accurate three times from the middle distance in the Minsk team. At the first break, the teams left with a score of 32:16.
In the second quarter, MINSK demonstrated a more coordinated work in attacks. Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson took the lead, who single-handedly brought 16 points to the team standings with shots from medium, long range and from the penalty line. The opponents went to the big break with a score of 58:37.
Interchange
Unfortunately, in the second half of the meeting Avtodor was not in the mood to give the victory to the Minsk residents. The pressure from the wards of Milenko Bogicevic throughout the site led to an increase in the difference in the score in favor of the Russians. Vadim Stubeda, Grigorii Motovilov and Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson scored repeated hits in MINSK. However, the victory remained with the owners of the site. The final score is 105:63.
The most productive:
MINSK: Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson – 25 + 4 REB, Grigorii Motovilov – 12 + 1 REB + 1 AST + 1 STL, Vadzim Stubeda – 11 + 6 REB + 1 AST + 1 STL + 2 block.
Avtodor: Malik Newman – 23 + 9 REB + 7 AST + 3 STL, Dominic Mavra – 14 + 2 REB + 7 AST, Rayshon Hammonds – 14 + 3 REB + 1 AST + 2 STL + 2 block.
Aliaksei Sukhavetski, acting head coach of MINSK: "First of all, I would like to apologize to our fans for the kind of effort that the players showed on the court today. We have been playing the last few matches with a squad of 10 people, some of them have health problems. We definitely don't have enough size to put up a decent resistance. First of all, we had a super bad start, very sluggish. This gave the opponent extra confidence, they started hitting heavy shots, and we couldn't get into this game in any way. There were some good stretches, but it did not change the overall picture in any way, and today such a score is on the scoreboard. We will think about how to fix the situation and are really looking forward to our injured players."
Minsk residents have completed the first stage. On February 10, at 16:00, MINSK will play in Samara against an opponent of the same name.