UNICS beat MINSK on the road – 58:54 (18:10, 13:13, 19:9, 8:22).
The best scorers
MINSK: Uladzislau Bliznyuk (18), Darol Hernandez-Zinenko (8 + 14 rebounds + 6 assists).
UNICS: Nenad Dimtrievic (22), Jalen Reynolds (9 + 5 rebounds), Viacheslav Zaitsev (8 + 5 rebounds), Louis Labeyrie (6 + 7 rebounds).
Game progress
MINSK and UNICS had different results before the game. The Belarusian team had 7 losses in 7 games, the Russian team had 7 wins.
Vince Hunter made 2 shots and started UNICS 9:0 run in 2.5 minutes after the game beginning. But this was all: the first half was very defensive. The Minsk team slowed down UNICS, but the guests did not allow the opponent to score, and MINSK got only 10 points. The second quarter was even less scoring and the quarter score was 13:13. At the end of the first half, MINSK had 10 turnovers, while UNICS having 11, the hosts made 3 out of 10 from three-point line, the guests 2 out of 13. UNICS led 31:23 at the halftime.
In the third quarter, UNICS finally made their shots and scored 19 points. The guests started to score in the paint and after offensive rebounds. At the same time, the Kazan team continued to work in defense, not allowing MINSK to get out 10-point difference. Without putting extra effort,the Kazan team led by 18 points.
The key moment
UNICS thought that the job was done and relaxed in the fourth quarter. MINSK caught the courage and started to make a comeback. The Belarussian team won the quarter with the score of 22:8and trailing only by 4 points. But the hosts simply did not have enough time – 58:54.
UNICS and CSKA are sharing the 1st place with 8-0 in the standings. But there will be only one undefeated team left in the League on Thursday.
Hero
Nenad Dimitrievic. The Macedonian guard became UNICS leader in Minsk. He scored 22 points, also had 3 assists and 3 rebounds.
Numbers
8 – UNICS started the season with 8 wins, having the club best in the history.
What’s next
MINSK: road game versus Pari Nizhny Novgorod on November 11.
UNICS: road game against CSKA on November 10.
