Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus defeated Astana Kazakhstan at home, 75-66 (16-24, 23-11, 20-13, 16-18).
Top Scorers
Tsmoki-Minsk: Aliaksandr Semianiuk (14 + 5 reb), Chris Czerapowicz (12), Devon Saddler (11)
Astana: Hordur Vilhjalmsson (17), Anthony Clemmons (11), Rustam Yergali (10)
Story
Minsk avoided an 0-3 start with a come-from-behind win over visiting Astana. Aleksandr Semianiuk scored 15 to guide the home team, who combined to limit the Kazakhs to 42 points over the final three quarters in a gritty defensive performance.
Early on, Astana had everything going. Hordur Vilhjalmsson, who finished with a game-high 17, drilled three triples, Rustam Yergali added two more, and the visitors surged to a 24-16 advantage at the end of one.
Trailing 32-25 midway through the 2nd quarter, Tsmoki stormed into the lead with a 12-2 run. The home team ultimately limited Astana to 11 points in the period and entered the break with a 39-35 advantage.
Turning Point
Trailing by as much as 10 early in the 3rd, Vilhjalmsson brought Astana back with another triple, cutting the deficit to five, 52-47.
But Minsk refused to let the momentum slip away. Dzianis Paliashchuk knocked down a 3-pointer and Devon Saddler closed the quarter with back-to-back baskets, staking Minsk to an 11-point lead. Saddler stayed hot in the 4th, scoring Tsmoki’s first five points of the quarter to anchor the advantage.
Astana trailed by as much as 16 down the stretch. Despite a brief rally to pull within seven, 71-64, the visitors never truly threatened, falling on the road, 75-66.
Tsmoki improves to 1-2. Astana drops to 0-3.
Stat
23 – Astana only snagged 23 rebounds. Not surprisingly, the visitors were also outscored 12-4 on second-chance points, perhaps the difference in the game.
Quotes
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Alexander KRUTIKOV:
– First of all, I want to congratulate all the fans on the win. This was a very important game. We need to win at any cost. I think that’s why we looked a little nervous at first. Plus, we didn’t defend very well against several Astana players. But then we found our rhythm, started moving the ball and played at the right speed on offense. By halftime, we took the lead and enjoyed the momentum throughout the second half.
Astana head coach Kostas FLEVARAKIS:
– Tsmoki is a good team. They’ve played well in Europe. We played fairly well, but only during the first 15 minutes. We knew it would be tough, especially without Justin Carter. We didn’t just lose our top scorer… Carter also had nine rebounds and three assists in the last game against Zenit and drew nine fouls. We’ll keep working and I think we’ll become the team we want to be.
Up Next
Tsmoki-Minsk: October 29 home vs. Parma
Astana: October 30 away vs. Khimki
Snapshot
