UNICS Russia defeated Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus on the road, 91-65 (21-19, 19-14, 27-12, 24-20).
Top Scorers
Tsmoki-Minsk: Chris Czerapowicz (15 + 8 reb), Aliaksandr Kudrautsau (10), David Kravish (8 + 7 reb)
UNICS: Jamar Smith (19), Trent Lockett (14 + 6 reb), Melvin Ejim (13 + 7 reb), Quino Colom (11 + 11 ast + 7 reb + 3 stl), Anton Ponkrashov (11)
Story
After picking up the VTB United League October MVP, Quino Colom continued his hot play with an 11-point, 11-assist performance, helping UNICS cruise to a win in Minsk.
Minsk had won back-to-back games entering Sunday’s contest. And for the opening 17 minutes, the home team held its own.
Chris Czerapowicz gave Tsmoki an early 14-9 advantage, scoring seven in the first five minutes. Midway through the 2nd quarter, when UNICS opened up a 29-21 lead, Czerapowicz responded with back-to-back triples, cutting the deficit to two.
Unfortunately for the home team, Czerapowicz didn’t get much help. Trailing by seven at halftime, Minsk saw the deficit balloon to 22 by the end of the 3rd quarter, effectively ending its hopes of a third-consecutive win.
UNICS was too strong, with six different players scoring in double digits, led by Jamar Smith’s 19. Colom, meanwhile, had seven rebounds and three steals to go with the double-double, making an early case for November MVP.
Highlights
. @TsmokiMinsk vs. @unicsbasket one minute highlights 📹 pic.twitter.com/9QkucAlerw
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) November 5, 2017
Stat
27-12 – Kazan’s defense in the 3rd quarter derailed Tsmoki and helped UNICS enjoy a comfortable win on the road.
Quotes
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Alexander Krutikov:
– We played okay in the first two quarters, but it’s hard to play against this UNICS team. Kazan applied pressure the entire game and really pushed the tempo on offense. Plus, we lost the battle on the glass, which was also a reason for our loss. Unfortunately, we aren’t ready yet to compete against teams of this caliber.
UNICS head coach Dimitrios Priftis:
– Tsmoki-Minsk is an opponent that we respect. They have a serious team. In my opinion, Minsk’s coach did a lot of work to organize the team and instill discipline. That’s why we had to be very focused today, in order to beat such a serious team. I think we were able to do that. It’s too bad we are leaving Minsk with injuries. I hope everything will be okay with Andrey Koshcheev and Kostas Kaimakoglou.
Up Next
Tsmoki-Minsk: November 12 away vs. Nizhny Novgorod
UNICS: November 11 home vs. Avtodor
Snapshot
