On March 3, our men's team returned to the VTB United League site after a short game break. In the match against Avtodor, Aliaksei Sukhavetski's wards lost to Saratov with a score 58:81 (12:19, 11:15, 21:22, 14:25).
The starting five:
MINSK: Daniil Kasko, Vadzim Stubeda, Jacob Cebasek, Dmitrii Kuratnik, Ivan Aladka.
Avtodor: Sindarius Thornwell, Dusan Beslach, Rashon Hammonds, Malik Newman, Vitaly Fridzon.
Game scenario
In the opening quarter, the hosts of the site managed to gain an advantage in the score at a faster pace, but the Minsk residents gathered and responded to the Saratov team with a number of effective attacks. Jakob Cebasek and Daniil Kasko scored accurate shots from the middle distance, Kosko and Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo also scored accurate “three-point” hits. At the first break, the teams left with a score of 19:12.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Minsk residents increased the pace of the game and were able to reduce the gap. Uladzislau Mikulski, Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo and twice Ivan Aladka made accurate hits into the Avtodor ring. However the subsequent offensive blunders and losses did not allow MINSK to seize the lead on the court. The teams went to the big break with a score of 34:23.
The reduced difference in the score at the start of the third quarter, thanks to accurate “three-shots” from Jakob Cebasek and Daniil Kasko, forced Milenko Bogicevic to take a timeout. Avtodor responded with pressure and once again began to strengthen its leading position. In our team, in the final minutes of the quarter, Daniil Barysevich scored 6 points with shots from the middle distance and from the penalty line. The score before the final quarter was 56:44.
Interchange
In the last 10 minutes of the match, despite the dedication of the Minsk residents, the Saratov team managed to keep the pace necessary for victory. Daniil Borisevich, Ivan Aladko, Daniil Kasko and Uladzislau Mikulski scored accurate shots as part of our team, but the game ended with Avtodor's victory. The final score is 81:58.
The most effective:
MINSK: Daniil Kasko – 12 + 5 REB + 1 AST, Daniil Barysevich – 12 + 1 REB + 1 STL, Ivan Aladka – 9 + 1 AST.
Avtodor: Rayshon Hammonds – 23 + 11 REB + 1 AST + 1 STL, Malik Newman – 14 + 6 REB + 1 AST + 1 STL, Dusan Beslach – 13 + 5 REB + 1 STL.
Acting head coach of MINSK Aliaksei Sukhavetski: “Congratulations to Avtodor on the victory. They took advantage of our problems with the squad very skillfully today. We arrived with a limited train. The opponent pressed, we lost the match: 55 to 22. I want to thank my guys, they tried their best. We have such a game rhythm now, there was a three-week pause, we are sagging in this. But in terms of dedication, I have no complaints about my players today. Today we showed what we have to show. I hope it will be better after the break.”
Minsk residents will once again play the next game away in Kazakhstan against Astana. The match will take place on March 6 at 18:00 Belarusian time. Follow the news on our website.