Astana Kazakhstan defeated VEF Latvia at home, 67-53 (23-19, 18-11, 16-19, 10-4).
Top Scorers
Astana: Anthony Clemmons (14 + 7 reb), Justin Carter (13 + 5 reb), Ike Udanoh (11 + 6 reb + 5 ast + 3 blk), Larry Gordon (11)
VEF: Kaspars Vecgaras (12 + 5 reb), Ilya Gromovs (10 + 8 reb)
Recap
After a high-scoring opening frame, Astana tightened the screws on defense in the 2nd quarter, conceding only 11 points.
The visitors outscored Astana in the 3rd, trailing by only four after Kaspars Vecgaras knocked down a 3. But Ike Udanoh and Larry Gordon quickly restored Astana’s lead, while the defense took over down the stretch, limiting VEF to four points in the final period.
Astana now leads VEF by two victories in the standings and moves into 11th place.
Star
Ike Udanoh. The American forward was excellent at both ends of the court. He scored his points in the paint, while contributing five assists and three nasty blocks.
Stat
4 – number of points scored by VEF in the 4th quarter.
Play
Quotes
Astana head coach Mikhail Karpenko:
– We weren’t perfect on offense, but we took care of business on defense and executed the game plan. We only allowed our opponent to score 53 points, which is a good number. Of course, we need to get much better on offense. This was my first game and the team also needs time to get used to my expectations, but I’m grateful to all of the players. This was a tough game. VEF competed extremely well.
VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
– Congratulations to VEF on the win. I’d like to comment on their defense–they worked hard and didn’t let us move the ball quickly on offense. We had opportunities to score more, but we didn’t take advantage. I’d like to note that we also had some nice stretches on defense. I hope we can play even smarter in upcoming games.
Up Next
Astana: January 20 away vs. Avtodor
VEF: January 21 home vs. UNICS
Photos
