Astana beat Zielona Gora at home – 88:82 (20:23, 19:14, 22:24, 27:21).
Top scorers
Astana: Jeremiah Hill (26 + 7 rebounds + 11 assists), Nikolay Bazhin (16), Ojars Silins (14 + 5 rebounds), Maxim Marchuk (10 + 5 rebounds + 5 assists).
Zielona Gora: Rolands Freimanis (21 + 7 rebounds + 4 steals + 3 blocks), Geoffrey Groselle (16), Lukasz Koszarek (12 + 5 assists), Skyler Bowlin (11 + 7 assists), Janis Berzins (10).
Story
For Astana the game had no more meaning in the standings, but the Polish team needed a win. Zielona Gora has not yet secured the final sixth place, claimed by Khimki.
From the very first minutes, a hard seesaw like battle followed. A streak of shots by Rolands Freimanis helped the visitors take the lead, but Astana responded with points from Ojars Silins and Askar Maidekin. Though Freimanis continued to bombard the basket early in the second 10 minutes, Astana slowly took over the lead. Midway through the second quarter Maidekin evened the score, and then Jeremiah Hill gave the home team the lead. Zan Tabak’s roster quickly tied the score, but on the big break Astana went with a lead 39:37.
The third ten-minute period was just as stubborn. Astana, actively combining passes and long-range shots, took a seven-point lead, but Geoffrey Groselle and Skyler Bowlin helped the visitors catch up. In the final seconds of the quarter, Jeremiah Hill and Janis Berzins traded accurate three-pointers, and before the start of the final quarter the score was tied again – 61:61.
🚨 @Bonis_JB closes 3rd Q against Astana with the buzzer! pic.twitter.com/CY2RMk3hT7
— VTB League (@VTBUL) April 22, 2021
Key moment
In the fourth 10 minutes, the pressure only built up. Lukasz Koszarek scored 8 points early in the quarter and gave the visitors the lead back. Astana had an answer with Jeremiah Hill, whose shot from beyond the arc put the home team back in front (79-76) and gained the initiative Freimanis’s free throws were the Poles’ last chance to turn the game around: 82-81. Maxim Marchuk’s crucial two points pushed the game into the tactical free-throw phase.
Jeremiah Hill hit them perfectly, without a miss on any of his 4 attempts from the line. All of the visitors’ attacks were inaccurate Astana got its sixth win of the season. Zielona Gora, meanwhile, risked losing their place in the league to Khimki. To do so, Andrey Maltsev’s team would need to defeat Avtodor in the final game.
Hero
Jeremiah Hill. The home team guard barely rested in this game (38 minutes), played his second-best game of the season and was very close to a triple-double, and in the final minute he secured the victory for Astana with accurate free throws.
Stat
Astana scored 21 points on fast breaks. Zielona Gora was not too far behind in this stat, maintaining a high tempo of the game – 16 points.
Comments
Astana acting head coach Sasho Todorovski:
– Finally we got a victory – today we deserved it. I congratulate the team. All players gave their all and left everything on the court. I also note that our young players got more playing time. I hope that at the next game our coaching staff will be in full force.
Zielona Gora head coach Zan Tabak:
– I congratulate Astana with the victory. From the beginning they played with more energy and outplayed us everywhere. Honestly, I have no explanation for why we play like that in the last VTB League games. Today we didn’t take the court with the right attitude.
Next
Astana: April 25 vs Tsmoki-Minsk
Zielona Gora: –
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