PARMA beat Lokomotiv-Kuban at home – 84:81 (20:21, 25:15, 14:26, 25:19).
Top scorers:
PARMA: Adas Juskevicius (33+5 assists), Mareks Mejeris (14+7 rebounds), Eigirdas Zukauskas (10+7 rebounds)
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Mindaugas Kuzminskas (24), Jordan Crawford (17+6 rebounds), Will Cummings (12+5 rebounds), Reggie Lynch (10+8 rebounds)
Story
Since their VTB League debut, PARMA had never beat Loko. Tonight they started showing motivation to do so from the very beginning. PARMA started with a 12:0 run led by Adas Juskevicius. Much effort was needed for Kuban to take the lead by the start of the second quarter. It looked like Loko took control of the game with a 6-point lead. However, the Lithuanian unit of PARMA – Eigirdas Zukauskas and Adas Juskevicius – fired up another run. They were backed by Maxim Grigoryev and Lorenzo Williams. After the first half, the Ural team were leading 45:36.
🧐 @8Adas Juskevicius or Lorenzo Williams? pic.twitter.com/DtvZaXZR9c
— VTB League (@VTBUL) December 5, 2020
The break helped Loko. Evgeny Pashutin adjusted offensive plays and Mindaugas Kuzminskas stepped out. He attacked every now and then and scored 17 of 26 team points in 3rd quarter. The strategy was successful as Kuban took the lead – 62:59 before the final quarter.
💣 @MKuzminskas scores 17 points in 3rd quarter against PARMA! pic.twitter.com/chNfgw0978
— VTB League (@VTBUL) December 5, 2020
Key moment
However, Kuzminskas’ fellow Lithuanian Adas Juskevicius had a thing to respond with. PARMA’s offense worked well in the last quarter, especially from beyond the arc (Nikolay Zhmako and Mareks Mejeris helped a lot), but the Lithuanian was the main force. With his effort, PARMA took back the lead. At 77:75 on the board, Juskevicius took total control and scored all 7 points of his team in the clutch. At the last seconds with 84:81 and possession, Loko still had a chance for an OT. But both shots by Jordan Crawford and Kevin Hervey were no good. PARMA downed Loko for the first time in history.
Hero
Adas Juskevicius. The Lithuanian fired PARMA up after a bad 3rd quarter and scored 17 points in the last quarter. His overall result is 33 points (second career best after 37 points against Khimki).
Stat
34% field goals. Loko’s aim definitely was not running well. The Red-greens missed open shots or shots from the paint. It’s curious that Kuban finished with 38% 3-pointers.
PARMA head coach Kazys Maksvytis:
“Congrats to the team and the fans. It was a tough game, the situation was changing, but that’s how pARMA should play. With energy and giving 100%, that’s the only way to win. We could’ve showed more confidence, but a win is a win. Charmless win is better than a beautiful loss.”
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
“It was a tough game. We couldn’t stop Juskevicius and he scored 33 points with a high percentage. We lacked focus in the alst quarter, had some pick and roll mistakes, lost players and allowed easy three-pointers. Offense was good. We need to improve defense and understand how to play without our main center. PARMA were great and Juskevicius made a highlight. We’ll work on defense and move forward.”
Next
PARMA: December 12 at Tsmoki-Minsk
Lokomotiv-Kuban: December 13 vs Zenit
Photo
