Lokomotiv Kuban beat Kalev on the road — 86:66 (22:17, 15:24, 19:18, 30:7)
The best scorers
Kalev: Donovan Jackson (18 + 5 assists), Kregor Hermet (14 + 9 rebounds), Marcis Vitols (13), Isaiah Cousins (10)
Lokomotiv Kuban: Errick McCollum (17), Darius Thompson (16), Alexandr Shcherbenev (15), Andrey Martiuk (12 + 16 rebounds), Alan Williams (10 + 6 rebounds)
Game progress
Loko arrived in Tallinn without Stanton Kidd and Jonathan Motley. But newcomer Isaiah Cousins made his debut for the hosts.
Kalev started the game with 3 long-range shots in a row, but failed to develop — there was an equal battle throughout the 1st quarter. And at the end of it, Errick McCollum and Alexandr Shcherbenev gave out a mini-run, which allowed Loko to finish the 1st quarter, leading the score – 22:17. The 2nd quarter began in the same way: Kregor Hermet and Marcis Vitols shot 3-point bombs, which allowed Kalev to level its gap and even take the lead. By the middle of the quarter, Loko’s offense had completely gone in the wrong direction and Kalev gradually began to seize the lead. Hermet’s next 3-pointer made the difference quite unpleasant for the guests – 37:29.
Although Loko managed to catch up by the end of the 1st half, Kalev continued to control the game at the start of the 3rd quarter. However, Branko Maksimovic had a hidden jocker — Alexandr Shcherbenev – who proved himself. Coming out on the floor, Shcherbenev immediately gave an assist to Alan Williams, but that was just the beginning. The next 3 minutes were a benefit for the young guard, who scored 10 points during this quarter. And although Kalev continued to lead by the beginning of the 4th quarter, Loko clearly found its game and was ready to regain the lead.
Donovan Jackson ends 3rd Q vs Loko 🚨 pic.twitter.com/DlnnHGtC3I
— VTB League (@VTBUL) January 30, 2022
The key moment
The first 2 minutes of the final quarter began surprisingly bad for the hosts. Errick McCollum’s 3-pointer, 2-pointer and impressive alley-oop assist to Darius Thompson, 2 points from Alan Williams — and Loko not only took the lead, but also began to build up the advantage. Kalev, who had been shooting with a good percentage for 3 quarters, suddenly stopped made their shots — the hosts scored their first points in this quarter only in the 7th minute. By that time, Loko had already scored 17 points and almost guaranteed the win.
🚂 @lokobasket starts 4th Q in Tallinn with 17-0 run! pic.twitter.com/6VcHAx6fdz
— VTB League (@VTBUL) January 30, 2022
The hosts did not manage to return to the game — Loko won the last quarter with a 23 point difference and got the 6th win of the season, equaling with PARMA-PARIMATCH in the standings.
Hero
Alexandr Shcherbenev. The 21-year-old guard, who had never scored more than 4 points in the United League before this game, made a decisive contribution to Loko game in the 3rd quarter. Shcherbenev’s 15 points is the 3rd result in the team, and according to the +/-, Alexandr leads the game by a large margin — +27.
Numbers
Andrey Martiuk’s 16 rebounds is not only a personal best, but also the season best in the United League.
Comments
Roberts Stelmachers, Kalev Head Coach:
– We fought three quarters and we get punished with our misses. We made some good shots at the beginning. But at the end we had a lot of good looks but we missed them and it frustrated our players. We didn’t come back in the defense and they punished us and when we started to try to come back to the game we made some bad mistakse and decisions which cost us.
Branko Maksimovic, Lokomotiv Kuban acting Head Coach:
– First half we didn’t follow our gameplan and agreements and with that we let Kalev show what they are capable of. Second half we started to play defense, this is the key. I think we can play defense on much better level, we showed it in the second half.
What’s next
Kalev: at home versus Zenit on February 7
Lokomotiv-Kuban: home game against Avtodor on February 6
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