PARMA beat MBA-MAI at home 83:54 (19:5, 22:15, 23:17, 19:17).
Main story
PARMA took the initiative from the start. The Moscow team couldn’t score until the third minute. The Perm team focused on making the game as difficult as possible for Andrey Zubkov. The Russian forward was doubled-teamed as soon as he got the ball. Careful defense against the leader prevented the guests from organizing an effective team offense.
The difference in offensive performance and a lot of turnovers typical for MBA-MAI this season led to a 21-point difference in the first half – 41:20.
Key moment
The third quarter brought no change in the game. Andrey Zubkov failed to find his game. Royce Hamm played solid defense in the paint, finishing the third quarter with 11 rebounds.
PARMA continued to stay extremely focused in defense until the end of the game, and got a big win.
X-factor
PARMA defense became the key to win the game. The Perm team shut down MBA-MAI leaders, and the guests were unable to find any ways to score in offense.
The tight defense affected the shooting percentage. The Moscow team made only 18.5% of the three-pointers.
Facts
After 5 games, PARMA is on pace with last season’s schedule, which was the best in history. The team has 2 wins and 3 losses.
Evgeny Pashutin and Vasily Karasev are the winningest Russian coaches in VTB League history. MBA-MAI coach missed an opportunity to equal his colleague in wins with his current team. Pashutin now has 38 wins with PARMA, while Karasev has 36.
Andrey Zubkov (1,851 points) joined the list of the Top 15 best scorers of the VTB United League history, surpassing Jaylen Barford (1,848). Keith Langford (1,955) is next.
Leaders
PARMA: Garrett Nevels (17), Timofey Yakushin (16 + 5 rebounds), Royce Hamm (12 + 12 rebounds), Aleksandr Zakharov (12 + 5 rebounds).
MBA-MAI: Makar Konovalov (17).
What’s next
PARMA: October 9 on the road against Uralmash.
MBA-MAI: October 12 on the road versus Astana.
