PARMA-PARI almost missed a 16-point lead, but in the end defeated Samara — 72:65 (24:22, 12:14, 20:10, 16:21).
Game progress
PARMA-PARI and Samara continue to fight for the Group B leadership: both teams had 12 wins before the game, but the Perm team has 1 more extra game.
The first half was equal. Aleksandr Platunov had a great segment in the first quarter and the hosts took the lead, but their advantage was minimal — 24:22. In the second quarter, the teams’ performance dropped. The second quarter ended with a draw – 36:36.
In the second half, the perm team immediately stunned Samara with a powerful 9:0 run. The timeout by Sergey Bazarevich did not help: PARMA-PARI continued to build up the lead. Platunov was effective in this segment again with 2 three-pointers. At some point, PARMA lead reached 16 points and only at the end of the third quarter the Volga team managed to reduce the gap to 10 points with an 8:2 run, which gave hope for intrigue.
Key moment
And Samara started a comeback. The hosts lost the ball in almost every possession,Jordan Theodore and Marcos Knight actions helped Samara to get closer to PARMA. Some drives in the paint, 2 three-pointers in a row – and 1-point difference (64:63).
However, PARMA-PARI had the last word and Isaiah Reese became the key player of the ending. In the final 2 minutes, Reese scored 8 points, coolly maed 6 of 6 free-throws, also made a key steal. Samara managed to respond with Knight made shot. PARMA-PARI won the 13th game this season and remained the sole leader of the Group B, seriously increasing their chances of getting into the next stage.
Key factor
Isaiah Reese had poor three-pointer percentage in today’s game (1 out of 5), but Aleksandr Platunov made 5 threes out of 9 and it is his career-high in the United League.
Fact
The hero of the game Isaiah Reese started this season in Samara and managed to play twice against the team, but did not gain much success, scoring 5 points in both games. After moving to the Perm team, the American guard noticeably improved his stats and in early March got 17 points against Samara, and in today’s game he became the key player.
Leaders
PARMA-PARI: Aleksandr Platunov (17), Isaiah Reese (13 + 7 assists), Tylor Ongwae (11 + 8 rebounds + 3 steals), Joel James (11 + 7 rebounds)
Samara: Marcos Knight (21 + 5 assists), Nikita Zverev (9)
Next games
PARMA-PARI: hpome game against Enisey on March 12
Samara: road game versus Astana on March 13
