Avtodor defeated MBA at home, 94–83 (13–31, 19–19, 35–9, 27–24).
Main Story
The game got off to a rough start for the home team on both ends of the court. They committed their fifth team foul as early as the 4th minute, and for the entire time, they couldn’t get the ball into the opponent’s basket, allowing the visitors to jump out to a 9–0 lead. MBA didn’t let up from there. By the end of the first quarter, they had pulled ahead by 18 points, shooting 56.3% from the field.
The Saratov team managed to even out the game in the second 10-minute period. The visitors continued to play aggressive defense with full-court pressure and capitalized on fast breaks. Daniil Pevnev scored 17 points by halftime and helped his team maintain their lead.After the break, the home team came out with a completely different attitude, which immediately led to a 16-2 run. By the middle of the quarter, Avtodor had managed to tie the score, and toward the end—for the first time in the game—took the lead. Wendell Green played a key role, scoring 19 points during that stretch.
The Clutch Moment
The final 10 minutes were a back-and-forth battle. The Moscow team never managed to regain the lead. Avtodor, having gained momentum, played its highest-scoring game of the season so far and finished with a double-digit lead.
X-Factor
Saratov stunned their opponents with a surge after halftime—35–9 in the third quarter, with Green accounting for 19 of those points.
Interesting Facts
The Volga team rallied from a 22-point deficit.
Danil Pevnev recorded a double-double, setting new personal bests in points (26) and rebounds (10).
Avtodor had two double-doubles. Dmitry Khaldeev (14 points + 10 rebounds) and Curtis Hollis (19 points and 10 rebounds).
23-year-old Andrei Fedorov reached the 100-point mark in the VTB League.
Wendell Green needed just 6 games to score 100 points in the tournament.
Alexander Khomenko reached the 500-rebound mark in the league.
Press Conference
Avtodor Head Coach Rostislav Vergun:
– First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate our fans, because with all that support, they deserve it. At halftime, I told the guys: this is very embarrassing, and only a strong second half can make up for it. Thank you to everyone who believed in us until the very end—the guys finally woke up.
Today was the first time this year we didn’t have a morning warm-up. That probably had some effect on our mental and emotional state. Our opponent had their own lineup issues, and we had ours. It may not have been the most spectacular game, but at this level, the result is what matters. I congratulate my team on a victory that’s very important to us.
MBA Head Coach Sergey Voznyuk:
– We started off well. In fact, we dominated the first half—we built a big lead. Overall, at halftime, we probably thought the game was over. But you have to play the full 40 minutes. Right from the start, Avtodor began to pick up the pace, and overall we lost control; the momentum shifted completely to our opponent. As a result, we lost the third quarter—35–9. That was probably the most crucial quarter in that regard. In other words, Avtodor retained the momentum, and they won this game.
Top Performers
Avtodor: Wendell Green (33), Curtis Hollis (19 + 10 rebounds), Dmitry Khaldeev (14 + 10 rebounds)
MBA: Daniil Pevnev (26 + 10 rebounds), Dmitry Sonko (10), Andrei Malinin (10), Pavel Savkov (10)
Up Next
Avtodor: October 23, away against CSKA
MBA: October 22, away against UNICS.
Highlights:
