Avtodor beat Tsmoki-Minsk on the road – 86:69 (18:24, 16:17, 21:15, 31:13)
Top scorers
Tsmoki-Minsk: Robert Lowery (16+7 rebounds), Kris Clyburn (16), Maksim Salash (14+7 rebounds), Andrei Rahozenka (13)
Avtodor: Zelko Sakic (16+12 rebounds), Anton Kvitkovskikh (16+6 rebounds), Markel Starks (14+8 assists), Nate Mason (12+5 assists), Gian Clavell (11)
Story
Team from Belarus had their first season game in front of their fans, and were planning to keep it bright. Tsmoki survived Avtodor’s initial pressure, and took control of the game with Robert Lowery’s energy.
👌 @rob_lowery3 from deep! pic.twitter.com/XucbjD9k4W
— VTB League (@VTBUL) November 7, 2020
By the end of the first quarter, the hosts were even close to 10-point advantage, but Markel Starks’ last shot let Avtodor get to rest trailing by only six. The Dragons finally reached double-digit difference in the second period (41:31) after Krish Clyburn’s shot, but it was immediately matched by Anton Kvitkovskikh’s long range shot. Minsk won the first half 41:34.
The hosts also worked well in the third quarter generally not allowing Avtodor to get closer than 4 points. However, in the middle of the quarter, Zelko Sakic and Nikita Mikhailovskii made it -2. Saratov started chasing, and with Aleksandr Petenev’s free throws, they finally levelled at 52:52.
Key moment
Minsk managed to hold the lead until the end of the third quarter. But, with the final period of regulation time, Markel Starks and Gian Clavell started destroying the opponents’ defense. Tsmoki could not guard Clavell whose shots allowed Avtodor get the lead and start running away. Nate Mason’s shot marked a catastrophic moment for the Dragons – 75:64. Avtodor kept on increasing the lead and got their third win.
Hero
Zelko Sakic. The Croatian maitained high level of performance with 3 of 6 three-pointers and a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Stat
15 unresponded points by Avtodor in the last quarter with a game-winning 15-0 run.
Comment
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Rostislav Vergun:
“The strongest team deserved the win today. Unfortunately, our leaders were not ready to play 40 minutes and we didn’t have adequate substitutions.”
Avtodor head coach Gordie Herbert:
“I think Tsmoki-Minsk were more motivated to win and played better. After the halftime, we played better as a team, our work ethics improved. Obviously, the fourth quarter was great for us: great energy, defense and rebounds. We knew it would be a tough game – Tsmoki won their Champions League game three days ago while had no games in two weeks. Fortunately, we found the rhythm in the final quarter.”
Next
Tsmoki-Mins: November 15 at Kalev
Avtodor: November 15, vs Lokomotiv-Kuban
Photo
