The season start has shown that there are no unconditional favorites in the League due to increased competition. Let’s look back at the brightest wins of newcomers and underdogs at the end of the first round.
On November 30 the first round had come to an end. During these 2 months, everything that seemed unlikely before the season happened in the League – newcomers settled in the Playoff zone, Lokomotiv Kuban and Zenit suddenly had problems and CSKA was the most stable team once again. Rivalries and standings were unexpected before. Here are 5 the most loud sensations at the start of the new season.
Zenit – Uralmash – 70:75 (14:14, 24:19, 18:24, 14:18)
Pre-game
Before the game in St. Petersburg, the hosts looked like the clear favorite. Zenit seriously strengthened during the offseason with Kyle Kuric, Bojan Dublevic and Vince Hunter. The renewed roster brought the team the VTB United League SuperCup 10 days before the season started and seemed to have a good start with a game against League newcomer Uralmash.
Game progress
The first half was equal and quite unexpected. But at the beginning of the third quarter, Zenit offense finally woke up – the hosts took a 10-point lead, while Uralmash began to finish more and more often on the possessions ending. The situation had changed with Uralmash forward Aleksandr Zakharov help. The Superleague MVP led his team and helped Uralmash to equalize the score. Josh Perkins had problems with shooting the whole game, but in the last possession made a difficult shot through and bringing Uralmash lead to 5 points. In the remaining 20 seconds, the St. Petersburg team didn’t manage to cut the difference and sensationally lost to the League newcomer.
Key players
Josh Perkins made a key shot, but Garrett Nevels and Javonte Douglas made key contributions to Uralmash’s win. The American duo combined for 41 points, including 10 of the team’s last 12 points in the end.
Lokomotiv Kuban – PARMA – 85:87 OT (20:17, 18:16, 22:28, 13:12, 12:14)
Pre-game
It was the first home game of the season for Loko. Despite a huge loss in the season-opening game against UNICS, the Krasnodar team still looked like a formidable force. The team reached the SuperCup final, knocking CSKA and Fenerbahce out. So PARMA didn’t look like a dangerous opponent.
Game progress
Loko led for most of the first half, but lost the lead midway through the third quarter. At the same time, the end of regulation was controlled by the hosts. 50 seconds before the end, the hosts had a 4-point lead, but C.J. Bryce and Isaiah Reese put the game into overtime. In the overtime (the first one of the season!), Bryce became a hero. C.J. pinned a game winning shot with his 27-point performance, giving PARMA its first road win over Loko in team history!
Key players
PARMA showed great team basketball, but C.J. Bryce that was the defining player. The guard scored 8 of his 27 points in overtime and got the game-winning shot.
Samara – UNICS – 104:93 (23:21, 25:29, 28:24, 28:19)
Pre-game
Even though UNICS had to play on the road, it had no effect on the Kazan team status. The reigning champion approached the game against Samara with a 3-game winning streak..
Game progress
From the start, Samara kept a high offensive pace. UNICS wasn’t able to maintain the lead and in the final quarter started to lose it. The Kazan team offense continued to make open shots, but the defense couldn’t find a way to stop Justin Roberson. The guard made several difficult mid-range shots that helped to get a comfortable lead. And Javonte Hawkins’ three-pointer 1:51 before the end brought the hosts lead to 9 points, which eliminated UNICS’ chances for a comeback. Also, Samara became the first team of the season which scored a 100 points.
Key players
Despite the double-digit score difference, the final quarter was extremely tense. Hawkins Roberson duo showed outstanding offensive efficiency during the most important stretch of the game. The guards scored 19 points in the quarter (the same amount as the entire UNICS), which helped the team win.
Astana – Lokomotiv Kuban – 76:68 (20:24, 15:23, 26:4, 17:17)
Pre-game
The teams had opposite results before the game. Loko had a 3-game winning streak, while Astana had 3 losses with 28-point difference on average. It seemed that the Krasnodar team finally got a feel for the game after a mixed start and would have no problem.
Game progress
Loko had control the first half – a solid 12-point lead through 2 quarters and good prospects for the second half. However, the Kazakh team was able to turn the game upside down. Astana turned on aggressive defense, allowing the opponent to score only 4 points in a quarter. The hosts won the quarter 26:4 and led by 15 with 5 minutes left. Lokomotiv attempted a comeback, but shooting did not let the hosts down in the end and helped to secure the win.
Key players
Markell Johnson led Astana comeback in the third quarter. His 9 points in 2 minutes helped the Kazakh team to equalize the score. After the guard three-pointer, the hosts scored 12 unanswered points, creating a lead that they held until the end.
UNICS – Runa – 83:86 (20:23, 15:17, 21:23, 27:23)
Pre-game
Runa had 5 wins before the game with the reigning League champion, but the newcomer schedule was not the most difficult at the start of the season. The game with UNICS was the first serious challenge. UNICS wanted to continue winning. In addition, Velimir Perasovic team played at home, so the Kazan team deservedly was favorites.
Game progress
Runa 19-9 run in the first 6 minutes was unexpected and shoking for the hosts. But UNICS quickly got back into the game and even took the lead in the second quarter. But in the third quarter, the Moscow team again made a run and started to lead by 14. The rest of the game was the Kazan team chase, but the hosts managed to cut the lead to just 10 points a minute before the end. It looked like Runa would win, but UNICS nearly did the impossible – several steals in a row helped to get within 1 point. However, Viacheslav Zaitsev missed his ponential winning three-pointer and Runa defeated the reigning League champion.
Key players
Jeremiah Hill and Alex Tyus played at their level and made solid contributions to Runa win, but Aleksa Radanov made the difference. His 5 quick points stopped UNICS comeback at the start of the final quarter and gave the Moscow teams a chance to maintain a 10-point lead. The Serbian forward scored 12 points, which is almost 60% more than his average.
