Samara defeated Astana on the road – 81:59 (25:12, 19:10, 18:24, 19:13).
Game progress
The teams were cautious in the first few minutes, but then Samara picked up the pace. Aleksandr Gudumak helped the guests take the lead, Ronnie Harrell and Anton Kardanakhishvili made the difference double-digit – 18:7. Samara did not stop there. The Volga team took a 20-point lead even before the halftime – 41:21.
Key moment
During the break, Gleb Plotnikov was able to work on mistakes and Astana started the third quarter much more confidently. Daniel Utomi and Alexander Orazbekov had a strong stretch, cutting the deficit to 11 points. However, Gleb Goldyrev and Kardanakhishvili stopped the comeback with three-pointers. After winning the final quarter, Samara secured second win in a row.
X-factor
Samara bench made a key contribution to the win. The guests rotation outperformed the opponent 55:8, scoring almost as many points as the entire opposing team combined.
Facts
For the first time in the season, 16-year-old Egor Amosov was in Samara starting lineup, scoring a season-high 6 points and 5 rebounds in 17 minutes.
Ilia Popov is the season leader in offensive rebounds (2.7 offensive rebounds per game) and made 5 offensive rebounds in this game.
Leaders
Astana: Daniel Utomi (17 + 7 rebounds), Alexander Orazbekov (12), Andrey Desyatnikov (11 + 7 rebounds).
Samara: Ilia Popov (15 + 5 rebounds), Anton Kardanakhishvili (14 + 5 assists), Gleb Goldyrev (11 + 5 rebounds), Ronnie Harrell (9 + 5 assists), Egor Amosov (6 + 5 rebounds).
What’s next
Astana: December 4 at home versus UNICS
Samara: December 1 on the road against CSKA.
