Astana beat Enisey on the road – 78:64 (18:22, 20:17, 22:14, 18:11).
Top scorers
Enisey: Denis Zakharov (19 + 6 rebounds), Garlon Green (12 + 6 rebounds), Ilia Popov (9)
Astana: Malcolm Hill (22 + 6 rebounds + 5 assists), Jeremiah Hill (17 + 5 rebounds + 5 assists), James Florence (10), Dusan Ristic(9 + 9 rebounds).
Story
Enisey was coming up this game with serious roster troubles. Davion Berry left the team and one more key player Tomislav Zubcic was injured together with Chavaughn Lewis. It seemed like a good chance for charged-up Astana to break the lose streak of 3 games.
However, Enisey wasn’t confused by lack of leaders and took the initiative in the game. While the guests were trying their luck in shots from distance (4 out of 8 three pointers), Krasnoyarsk lined up their offence through the big playes and Denis Zakharov’s drives (8 points). 12 points scored by the hosts in the paint allowed them to take the lead – 22:18.
The teams were true to themselves in the second quarter. Enisey relied on the power of the front line and aggressive drives to the basket. Guests attacked a lot from the perimeter and played one-on-one. And it brought a result. The active actions of James Florence and Malcolm Hill (20 points combined) allowed Astana to reduce the gap to a minimum by a big break – 38:39.
The guests did not stop there. Through the efforts of the “red-hot” Malcolm Hill, they made insane run (16:0) between of the third and fourth quarters and then the lead of Astana became double-digit － 65: 53.
🚨 Джеремайя Хилл закрывает 3-ю четверть матча в Красноярске трехочковой бомбой!
🚨 @J_Hill_5 closes 3rd Q vs Enisey with the buzzer! pic.twitter.com/cBisZgyizZ
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) March 1, 2020
Key moment
Enisey led by Zakharov, tried to organize a comeback, but did not succeed too much. Jeremiah Hill’s three pointer 4 minutes before the final buzzer returned the guests a double-figure lead －72: 62. In the remaining time, the teams made many turnovers and misses, which played into the hands of Astana players. Previously gained advantage allowed them to bring the game to a confident victory. After this success by Astana 7 teams in the standings have 7 wins and are ranked from 5th to 11th places.
Hero
Traditionally, Malcolm Hill was the main character in Astana’s offence. He became the top scoring (22 points) and valuable (22) player of the game. He also has 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
Stat
2 – this victory is only the second win on the road for Astana out of 9 games.
Comments
Enisey head coach Drazen Anzulovic:
– Congratulations to Astana on their victory. And I congratulate my players, but we lacked the skill to complete the game the way we played the first 27 minutes. It is very difficult for us to play without three foreign players. This factor has become key in the end. We had chances in the first 3 quarters to expand our lead, but opponents always scored difficult shots and took offensive rebounds. We were also let down by the scoring of the shots.
Astana head coach Emil Raikovikj:
– I want to congratulate both teams, it was a very difficult game. This season the VTB United League has very serious competition. Enisey was on fifth place before this game. I am very glad that my players stood out today. I congratulate them on their victory, there are new challenges ahead in the league.
Next
Enisey: March 8 at Zenit
Astana: March 8 at Kalev
Photo
