Runa defeated MINSK at home – 78:74 (19:19, 11:21, 19:16, 29:18).
Game progress
In the absence of Jeremiah Hill and Juwan Morgan, Cameron Young and Ilia Popov led Runa offense. The duo scored 12 points to start the game and gave the Vikings an early lead – 14:8. Artsem Sekushenka long-range shots soon helped the guests to tie the score. MINSK forced the Moscow team to finish possessions with bad shots. As a result, Erturul Erdogan team did not make a single shot from the game during the last 5 minutes of the first half. MINSK also acted well in offense and turned into an 11:2 run. The guests had a 10-pooint lead by the halftime – 40:30.
At the beginning of the third quarter the teams switched roles – the guests couldn’t make a single shot for 5 minutes, and the Vikings organized a 13:0 run and took the lead. But Grigory Motovilov shots and fast drives revitalized the guests offense and prevented Runa to increase the difference.
Key moment
During 13 minutes the game was tight – 2 minutes before the end the score was tied – 71:71. Sekushenka put the guests ahead, but Danila Pokhodiaev three-pointer gave Runa the lead.
The guests had a possession, but Motovilov was blocked by Young, after that MINSK started to foul. Nikola Ivanovic and Andrey Sopin made all free thorws. The Moscow team survived in the end and won without key players.
X-factor
Nikola Ivanovic played an important role in the hosts win. The gaurd finished the first half without scoring, but stepped up at a key moment in the game and scored 10 points in the final quarter. Ivanovic shots helped the Vikings to tie the game.
Fact
Runa managed to win without four 4 key players – Jeremiah Hill, Juwan Morgan, Aleksa Radanov and Alex Tyus. Cameron Young did a great job as a leader and scored 21 points.
Leaders
Runa: Cameron Young (21 + 5 assists), Ilia Popov (12 + 5 rebounds), Nikola Ivanovic (12), Andrey Sopin (10).
MINSK: Grigory Motovilov (16 + 8 assists), Uladzislau Mikulski (13), Jovan Sljivancanin (12 + 5 rebounds), Artsem Sekushenka (12)
What’s next
Runa (16-23): April 13 on the road against Uralmash
MINSK (1-38): April 14 on the road versus MBA.
