MBA defeated MINSK in Moscow – 81:70 (19:12, 28:23, 18:16, 16:19).
Game progress
The hosts took the lead since the start. MBA played disciplined defense, allowing MINSK to score only 3 points in the first 6 minutes. MBA advantage grew steadily, and after Daniil Kasatkin 10 straight points nearly reached 20 points. The guests struggled to score. But at the end of the first half, Vadzim Stubeda scored 7 points in a row, cutting his team’s deficit to 12 points – 47:35.
In the second half, the Belarusian team started to play harder and slowed down MBA offense. MINSK still had problems with turnovers, but managed to make three-pointers. The guests cut the difference to 10 points several times, but it was not enough. Makar Konovalov and Evgeny Valiev had a good stretch in the third quarter, Kasatkin and Trushkin made important shots in the last quarter. MBA confidently got the win in the last game of the regular season.
X-factor
The key factor of MBA win was offense. The Moscow team moved the ball a lot, got wide open shots and made22 assists versus MINSK 10. The hosts had 10 less turnovers than the opponent (11 vs. 21).
Fact
The win over MINSK became the 10th straight for the Moscow team. MBA updated the record for the longest winning streak in the current season. CSKA had 9 consecutive wins at the start of the regular season.
Leaders
MBA: Vladislav Trushkin (17 + 5 rebounds), Daniil Kasatkin (14 + 5 assists), Evgeniy Minchenko (11).
MINSK: Grigory Motovilov (14 + 5 assists), Vadzim Stubeda (11 + 8 rebounds), Jovan Sljivancanin (10 + 6 rebounds), Jakob Cebasek (10)
What’s next
MBA (19-21): April 17 on the road against Avtodor
MINSK (1-39): season is over.
