On February 11, the home match of MINSK against Samara took place at the Falcon Club Arena. In a bright and unpredictable fight, our team lost in overtime with the score 78:87 (19:16, 22:17, 18:25, 12:13, 7:16).
Starting five:
MINSK: Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo, Ognjen Pantovic, Vadzim Stubeda, DaQuan Bracey, Uladzislau Blizniuk.
Samara: Ivan Lazarev, James Ennis, Marcos Knight, Anton Kardanakhishvili, Vladimir Pichkurov.
Game scenario
The rivals fought almost on equal terms throughout the first quarter. The score on the scoreboard was opened by Minsk residents thanks to the hit of Vadzim Stubeda from the penalty line and the “three-point” of Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo. The teams equalized twice, and two minutes before the end of the quarter, MINSK won the lead on the home court thanks to hits from the penalty line from Kanstantsin Pasko and Jovan Sljivancanin (17:14). Minsk residents managed to hold the pressure of Samara until the end of the quarter and went to the first break with a score of 19:16.
A 5:0 scoring run at the start of the second quarter in the performance of MINSK, thanks to Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo's “three-point” and a hit from an average distance from Uladzislau Mikulski, forced Sergey Bazarevich to take a timeout (24:16). The conversation with the head coach did not save Samara from another accurate hit in their ring from Vlad Blizniuk, which marked “+10” on the scoreboard in favor of our team. A number of hits from Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo and Vadzim Stubeda secured the position of the leaders of the site for Minsk residents – 39:27. Due to offensive blunders on our part, Sergey Bazarevich's wards were able to make a 6:0 comeback and reduce the double-digit gap. The teams went to the big break with a score of 41:33.
Despite Samara's attempts to increase the pace of the game at the start of the third quarter, Minsk residents did not allow the Russians to reduce the difference in the score. Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo pleased the fans with the fourth accurate “three-point" for the match. Zach Smith turned out to be accurate twice from the middle distance in our team, and another “three-pointer” was scored by team captain Aliaksei Trastsinetski to the applause of the fans. The teams launched a real battle: by the end of the quarter, Samara managed to make a 9:0 breakthrough and reduce the difference in the score on the scoreboard to just 1 point. The opponents went to the final break with a score of 59:58.
Interchange
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the third quarter, Sergey Bazarevich's wards managed to seize the lead on the court, but the Minsk residents did not plan to concede at home and fought every second of the meeting. Zach Smith and Ognjen Pantovic brought important points to the team standings. With a minimal difference in the score, the opponents were approaching the end of the match, and 9.5 seconds before the end of the match, DaQuan Bracey scored a “three-point”, which equalized the score on the scoreboard and sent the teams into the decisive overtime.
In the middle of overtime, due to several accurate “three-point” at once, Sergey Bazarevich's team won the lead on the court, which it was able to hold until the final siren. The final score is 78:87.
The most productive:
MINSK: Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo – 14 + 2 REB + 2 STL, DaQuan Bracey – 13 + 5 REB + 7 AST, Vadzim Stubeda – 11 + 4 REB + 2 AST + 1 STL.
Samara: James Ennis - 21 + 6 REB + 3 AST + 1 STL, Marcos Knight – 20 + 6 REB + 4 AST + 3 STL + 1 block, Anton Kardanakhishvili – 14 + 6 REB + 3 AST + 1 block.
MINSK head coach Rostislav Vergun: “Any game is a thousand micro duels. When the game is equal, it is the victories in these micro duels that play a key role. At the end, the individual skill of the performers comes to the fore. The opponent realized his attacks, found an advantage, brought the ball to those people who are able to throw it into the ring. Unfortunately, we still have problems with this. Of course, I can't help but be pleased with the quality of the game – the guys gave themselves completely. 3 losses in the first half, 11 losses in 45 minutes – this is very good for us. As a result, someone still has to take and throw the ball, free throws, take responsibility in the end and implement attacks. Unfortunately, everything is natural for us. we need to improve our individual skills.”
The team doesn't have much time left to prepare for the next match. Already on February 14, MINSK will play in Saratov against Avtodor. The meeting starts at 18:00 Minsk time. We are rooting for MINSK!