On January 4, the Minsk men's team played the first match of 2023 against Zenit St. Petersburg at the Minsk Arena. The game ended with the victory of the guests with the score 91:66 (21:16, 30:15, 18:19, 21:17).
Starting five:
MINSK: Daniil Kasko, Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo, Aliaksei Trastsinetski, Vadzim Stubeda, Uladzislau Blizniuk.
Zenit: Caleb Homesley, Sergey Karasev, Thomas Heurtel, Andrei Zubkov, Richard Solomon.
Game scenario
At the start of the game, our team in a worthy battle played with the opponent almost on equal terms. 4 minutes before the end of the quarter, MINSK lost only 2 points. This was facilitated by a 4:0 breakthrough performed by Aliaksei Trastsinetski and Zach Smith. However, in quick attacks and due to free throws from the free throw line, Zenit were able to gain a slight advantage. Supreme Shakur Hannah tried to correct the situation with an accurate “three-point” shot, and Vadzim Stubeda pleased the fans for the second time in a quarter with a spectacular throw from above. At the last minute of the quarter, Danik Kasko helped his team to get two more points in the overall standings in a jump, and the opponents left with a score of 16:21 for the first break.
The St. Petersburg team made efforts to confirm the status of the reigning champions by scoring a “three-pointer” at the start of the second quarter, but Zach Smith shot back from above knocked down the plans of Javier Pascual's wards. The subsequent breakthrough of 6 points and a double-digit advantage on the scoreboard from Zenit forced Rostislav Vergun to take a timeout. In our team, Vadzim Stubeda continued to delight the fans with spectacular throws, who then also issued a spectacular “three-point” (24:37). Vlad Blizniuk also tried to reduce the difference in the score at the last second of the attack with a throw from behind the arc. Unfortunately, due to the strong defense, the opponent was able to maintain a double-digit advantage by the end of the quarter (31:51).
Despite the noticeable difference in the score at the start of the third quarter, Minsk residents continued to fight. Vlad Mikulski, Vlad Blizniuk and Zach Smith scored important points in the team standings when throwing from an average distance, and Alexey Trostinetsky scored a “three-point”. A spectacular interception and the subsequent accurate throw from Jovan Sljivancanin did not allow the opponent from St. Petersburg to move beyond the second dozen points of advantage on the scoreboard. Another “three-point” pleased the fans of Supreme Hannah. However, Zenit continued their strong defense, and the quarter ended with a score of 49:70.
Interchange
At the start of the final quarter, Supreme Shakur Hannah single-handedly managed to get 4 points, and Zenit took a timeout. Our team did not give up trying to demonstrate beautiful basketball with an obviously strong opponent. Vadim Stubeda, Vlad Mikulski, Zach Smith and Aliaksei Trastsinetski made the exact hits in the ring of the St. Petersburg team. The game ended with Zenit's victory with a score of 91:66.
The most productive:
“MINSK”: Supreme Shakur Hannah – 13 + 1 REB + 1 AST + 2 STL, Vadzim Stubeda – 11 + 3 REB, Uladzislau Blizniuk – 9 + 4 AST.
Zenit: Caleb Homesley - 25 + 5 REB + 1 AST, Richard Solomon – 17 + 2 REB + 1 AST + 3 block, Artem Klimenko – 14 + 6 REB + 2 AST + 1 STL.
MINSK head coach Rostislav Vergun: “First of all, I would like to congratulate all the fans on the upcoming year 2023. We definitely wanted to present a gift after winning the Belarusian Cup and transfer positive emotions to the games of the VTB United League. But, unfortunately, by the will of the calendar, we got one of the strongest teams in the League as an opponent. I will still say that I am satisfied with the quality of the game, especially some guys were pleasantly surprised, and this is a good sign in our case. Progress is going from game to game, probably — this is the main task for this season. Regarding basketball: the huge advantage of the opponent in the paint did not allow us to make such a desired breakthrough. Every time we made 2-3 successful attacks, we lost rebounds and the opponent found easy points and the opportunity to repay us. We have a week to prepare for the battle with Astana, which is crucial for us. We will try not to waste time, do our job and believe in the future of our team."
After the first match of the year on the home court, the men's team will have a series of games on the road. On January 11, MINSK will play Astana in Kazakhstan. The meeting starts at 17:00 Minsk time. We believe in the team!