Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus defeated PARMA Perm on the road, 88-81 (23-20, 33-24, 13-15, 19-22).
Top Scorers
PARMA: Tre’ McLean (23 + 5 reb + 5 ast), Frank Gaines (17), Codi Miller-McIntyre (15 + 5 reb + 9 ast)
Tsmoki-Minsk: Chris Czerapowicz (33 + 7 reb), David Kravish (18 + 11 reb)
Story
Tsmoki-Minsk won for the first time in the League since December 10 and Chris Czerapowicz scored 33 points to further complicate the race for the final two playoff spots.
PARMA dropped 104 points on Kalev one week earlier in Perm, but the home team was ice cold vs. Tsmoki-Minsk, shooting 38% from the field.
Tsmoki-Minsk took advantage, led by Czerapowicz and excellent three-point shooting (12-21 as a team).
The visitors started the game on a 17-5 run, connecting on their first three 3-pointers.
PARMA battled back to tie the game at 20-20 late in the 1st quarter, before Aliaksei Trastsinetski helped Tsmoki regain the lead with another triple at the end of the period.
The 2nd quarter belonged to Minsk, which shredded PARMA’s defense for 33 points. Alexander Krutikov’s club was a perfect 11-11 from the field in the period, cruising into halftime with a 56-44 lead.
The home team limited Tsmoki to 13 points in the 3rd quarter, but failed to capitalize at the other end. PARMA briefly cut the deficit to two, 58-56, early in the quarter, but Tsmoki’s defense held firm, helping the visitors maintain a double-digit lead entering the final period.
Turning Point
PARMA’s Tre’ McLean drained a 3 to open the 4th, before Filip Adamovic slammed the door shut with eight straight points, including a pair of triples that put Minsk ahead by 13, 77-64.
The visitors cruised the rest of the way, securing an 88-81 win on the road to improve to 5-11. PARMA falls to 5-10, one half game ahead of VEF, Nizhny Novgorod and Tsmoki-Minsk for the final postseason berth.
Stat
6 – Despite committing only six turnovers, PARMA had a terrible night on offense, shooting 29-75 from the field.
Quotes
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Alexander Krutikov:
– I liked how we played in the first half. We got in a rhythm, though the score in the first half was a bit strange. Both teams scored a lot of points. The second half was more physical and less efficient. When our opponent got close, we were able to keep our cool thanks to substitutions and preserve enough energy to close out the win.
PARMA head coach Nikolajs Mazurs:
– First of all, we didn’t execute the game plan. Second, we missed too many open shots. It’s impossible to win like that, especially when you’re behind. Our opponent was very accurate from beyond the arc, but I wouldn’t say all of their shots were contested. During our 3rd-quarter comeback, they hit three important shots and we weren’t able to respond.
Up Next
PARMA: March 16 away vs. VEF
Tsmoki-Minsk: March 17 home vs. Lokomotiv-Kuban
