On February 13, the first home match of the second stage in the VTB United League took place at the Minsk Arena. MINSK was met on the Uralmash parquet led by Rostislav Vergun, who entered the Minsk venue for the first time as the head coach of the opponent. Ekaterinburg won today with the score 89:77 (18:17, 29:25, 13:19, 29:16).
Starting five:
MINSK: Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, Vadzim Stubeda, Uladzislau Mikulski, Jacob Cebasek, Dmitrii Kuratnik.
Uralmash: Octavius Ellis, Stanley Whittaker, Kirill Pisklov, Garrett Nevels, Alexander Zakharov.
The course of the game
Aliaksei Sukhavetski's wards started the game with a number of mistakes, but they quickly managed to pull themselves together and by the end of the first quarter they had reduced the difference in the score to just 1 point. Grigorii Motovilov turned out to be accurate twice when shooting from behind the arc, another “three-pointer” was made by Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo. The opponents went to the first break with a score of 17:18.
In the second quarter, the Minsk residents did not slow down and continued to go almost level with the opponent. Vadzim Stubeda, Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson and Dmitri Kuratnik scored repeated hits. The opponents went to the big break with a score of 42:47.
In the third quarter, Aliaksei Sukhavetski's wards managed to seize the lead for the first time in the game in well-coordinated teamwork. This was facilitated by a 6-point breakthrough performed by Grigorii Motovilov and Vadzim Stubeda. For the entire 10 minutes of the quarter, the leader on the court was replaced in almost every attack, both teams did not slow down. The opponents went to the final break with a score of 61:60.
Interchange
Minsk residents turned on the pressure and continued to fight, not giving Uralmash the opportunity to gain a significant advantage in the score. Grigory Motovilov, Vadzim Stubeda and Jacob Chebashek scored a number of hits from different distances, almost bringing Minsk residents closer to the first victory of the season. However, in a quick breakaway, Uralmash managed to bring its game to victory. The final score is 89:77.
The most productive:
MINSK: Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson – 21 + 2 REB + 6 AST + 3 STL, Grigori Motovilov – 21 + 3 REB + 4 AST + 2 STL, Vadzim Stubeda – 13 + 10 REB + 1 AST + 1 STL.
Uralmash: Octavius Ellis – 18 + 10 REB + 1 AST, Stanley Whittaker – 17 + 4 REB + 10 AST + 2 STL, Garrett Nevels – 16 + 4 REB + 5 AST + 1 STL + 1 block.
Acting head coach of MINSK Aliaksey Sukhavetsky: “I want to thank my team for the effort they left on the court. Today we did a lot of things defensively and offensively. There was proper energy. There was not enough faith in victory. In the end, there was not enough character. The break is starting now. We will try to come back after it.”
After a short break and an All-Star Match, the VTB United League will resume games next month. Minsk residents will meet Avtodor on the road on March 3. Follow the schedule of the games and the news on our website.