Lokomotiv-Kuban defeated CSKA at home, 83-74 (10-21, 26-20, 26-16, 21-17).
Top Scorers
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Kevin Jones (21+15 reb), Mardy Collins (15+7 reb+5 ast+3 stl), Andrei Zubkov (14+6 ast), Ryan Broekhoff (12+5 ast)
CSKA: Dmitry Kulagin (13), Aaron Jackson (12), Vitaly Fridzon (10)
Turning Point I
CSKA stymied Loko’s offense in the 1st quarter, jumping out to a 21-10 lead behind seven points from Dmitry Kulagin.
The Army Men also scored the first three points of the 2nd quarter to stretch the advantage to 14.
Stats
Loko had more rebounds (42-34) and more assists (24-19) than CSKA, two huge factors in Krasnodar’s win.
Turning Point II
Lokomotiv gradually chipped away at the deficit, including two 3-pointers at the end of the first half that cut it to five.
The 3rd quarter saw Krasnodar go up by as much as six points, but visiting CSKA never let things get out of hand. With less than eight minutes remaining, the Army Men twice cut Loko’s lead to one and appeared poised to take over the game.
But Sasa Obradovic’s club had other ideas. Kevin Jones and Andrei Zubkov got a couple easy layups and Ryan Broekhoff made it an eight-point game with a clutch ‘3’, 73-65.
CSKA briefly pulled within five, but this was Krasnodar’s night. Cheered on by a raucous Basket Hall crowd, Matt Janning drained a 3-pointer and Zubkov scored four more to put the game out of reach, 80-68, with less than two minutes remaining.
Impact
CSKA loses for the first time in the VTB United League and only the 2nd time this season. CSKA, UNICS, Khimki, and Zenit each have one loss, while Loko sits in 5th place at 6-2, making for a very crowded leaderboard.
Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– Congratulations to Loko. Our opponents played better for much of the game. They competed, showed desire, shot better, and that’s why they deserved to win. We started with good energy and played solid defense, but we gave up 52 points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. We missed 15 free throws and a lot of open looks. In those conditions, it’s tough to count on a win. For us and for the club, it’s important to know what we’re doing wrong when we lose, because we have to use that knowledge. We’ll do that.
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Sasa Obradovic:
– I want to thank the fans that came to the Basket Hall today. This was a good advertisement for basketball. After this game, even more people will be interested in our beloved game and come to support Loko. We started the game with too much respect for CSKA and felt pressure. But we found our rhythm at the end of the first half. This was a team win. Everyone did their part.
Snapshot
Up Next
Lokomotiv-Kuban: December 10 at Astana
CSKA: December 11 vs. VEF
