UNICS beat Enisey on the road – 66:60 (16:19, 16:18, 16:12, 18:11).
Game progress
UNICS came into the game with the League-best 7-game winning streak, while Enisey had been on top in the last 2 games. The Krasnoyarsk team with Victor Sanders and former Kazan team player Vladislav Odinokov stood out in the first half. Before this game, Sanders was the League leader in three-pointers made (55). He scored 8 points with 2 three-pointers with 4 attempts by halftime. The guests had 2 of 10 long range shots and 8 of 21 dield-goal made shots. After 20 minutes, Enisey had the lead – 37:32.
Key moment
In the second half, UNICS improved the defense and took the initiative. Overall, the game was a chaotic (the hosts had 21 fouls) and misses (the Kazan team made only 21.7% of long-range shots).
In such a situation, UNICS’ defense and leaders were key factors. The Kazan team dried up the game in the end and got lead with Jalen Reynolds, Marcos Knight and Tony Taylor assistance. UNICS winning streak reached 8 games.
X-factor
UNICS switched on defense as much as possible in the last 3 minutes of the game and didn’t allow Enisey to score a single point.
Mikhail Belenitskii had his best scoring game in the VTB League – 16 points, 4 of 5 three-pointers made.
Facts
The rivalry history score is now 22-4. Enisey beat the Kazan team exactly one year ago last time – January 8, 2024 (94-
:80 at home).
UNICS surpassed Zenit and has the best record on the road – 10-2.
Aleksa Stepanovic had his first double-double in the VTB League with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Leaders
Enisey: Aleksa Stepanovic (12 + 10 rebounds), Vladislav Odinokov (11), Sergey Balashov (10 + 9 rebounds), Victor Sanders (10 + 5 assists).
UNICS: Mikhail Belenitskii (16), Jalen Reynolds (11 + 6 rebounds), Marcos Knight (10), Tony Taylor (7 + 6 rebounds + 8 assists).
What’s next
Enisey: January 11 at home versus Pari NN
UNICS: January 12 at home against Uralmash.
