On December 9, at the Minsk Arena, our team played with the leaders of the standings - CSKA. Both opponents played today without the usual squads – Muscovites came to the game without Aleksey Shved and Nikola Milutinov, and Darol Hernandez Zinenko is recovering in our team after a minor injury. In today's meeting, CSKA won with the score 66:101 (11:30, 11:33, 22:23, 22:15).
Starting fives
MINSK: Daniil Kasko, Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo, Aliaksei Trastsinetski, Vadzim Stubeda, Uladzislau Blizniuk.
CSKA: Kasper Ware, Ivan Ukhov, Anton Astapkovich, Dejan Davidovac, Livio Jean-Charles.
Game scenario
Daniil Kasko and Aliaksei Trastsinetski scored the first points for our team, but Emil Rajkovic's wards managed to make a breakthrough at a fast pace 9:0. After CSKA gained a double-digit advantage, Rostislav Vergun took a timeout. Offensive blunders began to haunt Minsk residents, while the opponent continued to increase the difference in the score on the scoreboard at a measured pace. In the last seconds of the quarter, Uladzislau Blizniuk issued a “three–point”, which helped our team to leave for the first break with a double-digit number on the scoreboard - 11:30.
In the second quarter, Daniil Kasko again pleased the fans, this time with a throw from behind the arc, but CSKA did not slow down, completing almost every attack by hitting our ring. Vlad Mikulski and Aliaksei Trastsinetski managed to bring points to the team standings by the middle of the quarter. Aggressively acting in attack, CSKA retained a confident advantage by the big break (22:63).
At the beginning of the third quarter, with the efforts of Vlad Mikulski and Vlad Blizniuk, Minsk residents got 5 more points. At this time, the leaders of the season continued to prove with powerful pressure that they deservedly occupy the first position in the standings. Our team continued to fight: Daniil Kasko, Vlad Blizniuk and twice Vadzim Stubeda pleased the fans with accurate throws from an average distance. At the last second of the quarter, Daniil Kasko threw a bright buzzer, but the pressure of the Red Army was unstoppable. The teams went to the final break with a score of 44:86.
Interchange
Our team did not give up trying to show character in the fourth quarter, which began with 4 points on the scoreboard thanks to the shots of Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo and Vlad Mikulski. Minsk residents turned on the game as much as possible and scored 10 points by the middle of the quarter, as opposed to only 2 points from CSKA, as a result of which Emil Rajkovic took a timeout. After a conversation with the coach, Daniil Kasko made his 5th effective throw from an average distance, and at the last minute Vlad Blizniuk pleased all the fans with a “three-point”, but at that time CSKA got the next 100th of the season on the scoreboard. The meeting ended with a score of 66:101.
Head coach of MINSK Rostislav Vergun:
— In the first half, we went out to show “cool” against a very cool team. The cool team showed very well whose "cool" is higher. When there was some clarity, when they began to understand how to defend together, and not one by one, they began to find attacks – it began to turn out a little better.
The most productive:
MINSK: Daniil Kasko – 18 + 3 REB + 2 AST + 1 STL + 2 block, Uladzislau Blizniuk – 12 + 3 REB + 4 AST + 1 STL.
CSKA: Nikita Kurbanov – 15 + 5 REB + 2 AST + 1 block, Ivan Ukhov – 13 + 2 REB + 2 AST.
MINSK's next game will be away against PARMA-PARI on December 13 in Perm. The match broadcast will be available on the VTB United League website. The starting face-off is at 6:00 PM.