Lokomotiv-Kuban Russia defeated VEF Latvia at home, 92-63 (30-17, 22-10, 17-16, 23-20).
Top Scorers
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Vitaly Fridzon (18 + 3 stl), Dmitry Khvostov (11), Dmitry Kulagin (11 + 5 reb + 6 ast)
VEF: Andrejs Grazulis (15), Steve Zack (10 + 6 reb)
Story
Lokomotiv rebounded from Sunday’s setback in Kazan in impressive fashion, demolishing visiting VEF, 92-63, behind 18 points from Vitaly Fridzon and Dmitry Kulagin’s all-around performance.
The home team outscored Riga in each period, quickly building a double-digit lead in the 1st quarter thanks to eight points from Kulagin and a 10-0 run sparked by Moustapha Fall’s dunk with 2:37 remaining.
VEF never got closer than eight points the rest of the way as Krasnodar’s vaunted defense kept the Latvians in check. Riga shot a measly 32% from the field, including 7-30 from beyond the arc, in the losing effort.
Loko’s perimeter offense, meanwhile, led the way as the home team fired 55% from beyond the arc (11-20) and 57% overall.
Star of the Game
Vitaly Fridzon, who reclaimed his spot as VTB United League all-time scoring leader with 2,200 career points, shot 6-7 from the field, including 3-3 from downtown in the win.
Alexey Shved briefly stripped Fridzon of the lead on Sunday with 23 points vs. Kalev, but now must wait until Monday’s game in Perm to try to regain the top spot.
Борьба за первое место в списке лучших скореров Лиги только начинается 🤤
Let’s the battle for the all-time scoring leader title begin🤤 pic.twitter.com/9NqOBF7jHk
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) October 20, 2018
Pass of the Game
Fridzon also flashed his playmaking ability, with this pretty assist on the baseline.
Зрелищный пас не глядя от Виталия Фридзона 😍
Beatiful no-look pass by Vitaly Fridzon 😍Большой перерыв / Halftime:@lokobasket 52:27 @vefriga pic.twitter.com/041lj8XI1l
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) October 20, 2018
Quotes
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Sasa Obradovic: “Our team played at a higher level. We were better than VEF in each head-to-head match-up. But we learn from games like this. We need to analyze today’s game and continue to improve our play in each direction. We have more work to do.”
VEF head coach Janis Gailitis: “Congratulations to Loko. They played better today as a team without question. They were better in each component: quality of basketball, dribbling, passing, strategy. As always, they were aggressive and deserved the win today.”
Photos
Up Next
Lokomotiv-Kuban: October 27 away vs. Nizhny Novgorod
VEF: October 27 home vs. Zenit
