On March 26, the last match of the season in the VTB United League took place at the Falcon Club Arena. “MINSK” was met at home “Astana”. Today our team pleased the fans with a bright victory with the score 84:69 (21:30, 16:18, 25:5, 22:16).
Starting five:
MINSK: Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo, Aliaksei Trastsinetski, Vadzim Stubeda, Zach Smith, Uladzislau Blizniuk.
Astana: Markell Johnson, Rustam Murzagaliyev, Michael Myers, Valery Likhodey, Maxim Marchuk.
Game scenario
Oleg Kiselyov's wards took a faster pace of the game at the start, thanks to which they seized the lead on the court. Aliaksei Trastsinetski opened the score on the scoreboard for Minsk residents with a hit, Zach Smith and DaQuan Bracey also made accurate shots from an average distance. Vadzim Stubeda, thanks to fouls from the opponent, managed to get 5 points from the penalty line in the team standings. Unfortunately, a number of offensive blunders did not allow the owners of the site to reduce the backlog. On the first break, the teams left with a score of 21:30.
In the second quarter, both teams fought almost on equal terms. However, this time Minsk residents started fouling more often, which allowed Astana to score several important points from the penalty line. The fans were pleased with the captain of MINSK with a bright “three-point”, and Zach Smith, Jovan Sljivancanin and Uladzislau Blizniuk turned out to be accurate from an average distance. In the last seconds in a fast break, Zach Smith made another spectacular throw, and the opponents left with a score of 37:48 for the big break.
At the start of the third quarter, Minsk residents began to demonstrate a faster pace of the game and managed to reduce the double-digit gap in the score thanks to hits from Aliaksei Trastsinetski and Uladzislau Blizniuk (42:50). Demonstrating well-coordinated work in defense, MINSK made a breakthrough of 6 points, for a long time in the game reducing the difference in the score to just the minimum (50:52). Seeing the dangerous situation for his team, Oleg Kiselyov decided to take advantage of the timeout. Under the stormy ovation of the stands, Jovan Sljivancanin loaded an accurate “three-point” shot, which brought MINSK forward. Our team showed a clear desire to please the fans with a victory, and so far “Astana” could not crown the attacks with effective shots, Rostislav Vergun's wards gained an advantage of 9 points by the end of the quarter – 62:53.
Interchange
The excitement of Astana began to affect their performance, while Minsk residents managed to increase the advantage in the score to 15 points, again forcing Oleg Kiselyov to take a timeout. The bright struggle continued right up to the last seconds. Aliaksei Trastsinetski, Jovan Sljivancanin, Zach Smith and DaQuan Bracey pleased fans with accurate throws. The game ended with the victory of MINSK with a score of 84:69.
The most productive:
MINSK: DaQuan Bracey – 22 + 5 REB + 2 AST + 5 STL, Zach Smith – 18 + 6 REB + 3 AST + 4 STL, Jovan Sljivancanin – 14 + 2 REB + 2 AST.
Astana: Valery Likhodey - 22 + 4 REB + 2 AST, Michael Myers – 12 + 15 REB + 2 AST + 4 STL + 1 block, Markell Johnson – 10 + 3 REB + 10 AST + 4 STL + 3 block.
MINSK head coach Rostislav Vergun: “We conceded 30 points in the first quarter. It is clear that with such a quality of protection it was difficult to count on the result, we thought it would be easier somewhere. it took us a while to catch the rhythm, to decide on the rotation. Those guys who made a breakthrough in the second half due to high-quality defense and dedication won the game. It's hard to evaluate such games when you have three wins all season. It means a lot to us. We have been preparing for a whole week, I am glad that we have achieved a positive result. I think that our biggest victory this season is almost always full stands. This has never happened. I want to believe that people liked basketball. Our job is to make it as good and high–quality as possible.”
Now the team is waiting for a short break, after which MINSK will play in the playoffs of the Belarusian championship among men's teams. Follow the news on our website and on social networks.