Lokomotiv-Kuban win at Tsmoki-Minsk 88:80 (25:24, 24:22, 19:15, 20:19)
Top scorers
Tsmoki-Minsk: Branko Mirkovic (21 + 9 assists), Dominez Burnett (16), Vladimir (14).
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Vitaly Fridzon (17), Sam Dekker (15 + 11 rebounds), Johnny O’Bryant (15 + 10 rebounds), Dmitriy Kulagin (14 + 8 assists).
Story
Tsmoki-Minsk and Lokomotiv-Kuban played their first game of VTB League season. Contending Krasnodar were motivated to win after a loss from Rytas in Eurocup. However, it a was a tough challenge to transform the advantage into result. In the first half, Loko lacked confidence in defense, especially on the perimeter (7 of 15 for Dragons and only 2 3-pointers for Kuban). Plus, performance of Dmitriy Kukagin (11 points, 3 assists) and Sam Dekker (8 points, 9 rebounds) was neutralized by Branko Mirkovic (11 points, 5 assists) and Maksim Salash (8 points, 3 rebounds). The first 20 minutes were a close game – 49:46 for Loko.
After the halftime break the star rookie of Tsmoki Vladimir Veremeenko contributed to hosts performance with a solo 7-point run (53:53). Loko could take a solid lead only in the end of the third quarter thanks to successful defense and Vitaly Fridzon and Vladimir Ivlev’s shots on the last minute making it 68:61.
The final quarter started with three-pointers of Fridzon and Johnny O’Bryant 74:72.
Key moment
Tsmoki’s poor start of the fourth quarter was not critical – points of Mirkovic and Dominez Burnett made it 72:78 at the mid-quarter. But within the next 27 seconds Sam Dekker made two monster dunks to take back double-digit differential for Loko which demoralized the hosts. Time-out was no use for Minsk. Russian team controlled the rest of the game and started the season with a win.
Stat
2 shots beyond the arc of 10 were made by Minsk in the second half. Loko managed to neutralize the Belarus snipers which was a key to success.
Hero
Sam Dekker. 18th pick of 2015 NBA draft showed his skills and efficiency. 15 points, 4 of 7 field goals, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and two crucial dunks that totally look like Week 2 Top-10 highlights
Comment
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Rostislav Vergun:
We had a good game for about 35 minutes, but then we let them make open shots. You don’t really count on them missing. But I have to thank the guys for giving it all on the court. Now we have just to move on. Congrats to Loko, and I wish them a good season.
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Luca Banchi:
It was a tough game, like we expected. You should remember that we came here right after Vilnius where we suffered a loss from Rytas, and lost important player Will Cummings. I’m confident the team did a great job despite the low 3-pointers percentage.
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