PARMA-PARIMATCH beat Astana in the tuff home game – 108:101 3 OT (24:24, 17:14, 19:20, 16:18, 32:25).
The best scorers
PARMA-PARIMATCH: Jeremiah Hill (32), Mareks Mejeris (18), Adas Jushkevicius (15 + 5 rebounds + 7 assists), Artsiyom Parakhouski (11 + 9 rebounds).
Astana: Anthony Hickey (28 + 5 rebounds + 10 assists), Jaylen Barford (28 + 5 rebounds), Skylar Spencer (14 + 14 rebounds), Antonio Campbell (7 + 12 rebounds).
Game progress
PARMA (3-4) lost in the previous game to Lokomotiv Kuban, having a 20-point lead during the game. Astana (2-5) also had serious motivation: after a good start, the team got 4 losses in a row and took 10th place. In the start of the game, Artsiyom Parakhouski made 4 points, and Jeremiah Hill made two 3-pointers. The Kazakh team stopped the 13:2 run after a timeout: Anthony Hickey and Skylar Spencer returned the guests to the game with their shots. The game became equal, the 1st quarter eventually ended with a draw score – 24:24.
Astana had problems with 3-points shots in the 1st half. PARMA did a little better, which allowed them to get a slight advantage in the game. Two 3-pointers shots from Jeremiah Hill helped them to get a 3 points lead after 20 minutes of the game.
The 3rd quarter pleased with the open game. The Perm team managed to escape into fastbreaks several times after successful defensive plays. Mareks Mejeris perfectly supported these fastbreaks, PARMA got double-digit lead. And here Astana snipers turn their aim on: Mark Tikhonenko scored twice, then Hickey and Barford twisted the intrigue before the 4th quarter – 60:58 PARMA lead.
Long-range shots by Adas Jushkevicius, Nikolai Zhmako and Alexander Platunov allowed PARMA to push the opponent to a 7 points distance. The teams entered the ending of regulation with 74:67, which gave the Perm team a good chance to win. But then the PARMA had a series of turnovers and missed shots, which turned into 4 minutes without points. During this time, the guests reduced the gap to a minimum – 74:73 a minute before the end. PARMA and Astana could not decide the outcome of the game in the regulation: the guests responded to Hill’s free-throws with Barford’s 3-pointer.
The 1st OT did not reveal the winner – a tense game and 6:6. The 2nd began with PARMA run. After a series of missed shots, Eigirdas Zukauskas finally scored from behind the arc, he was supported by Jushkevicius and Hill with free-throws. Astana’s situation has become even more difficult due to Barford problems, the guard had leg cramps. But Oleg Balashov, who came off the bench, earned a foul in offence, which marked another mini-comeback by Astana.
8 seconds before tthe buzzer, Oleg got and-one after offensive rebound, and in the next possession he got defensive rebound and got fouled and score 2 out of 2 from the line – 97:94. But then another extraordinary moment happened. PARMA had no timeouts left. Hill made an impressive speed up to the middle of the court, after which he shot – the ball went in – 97:97!
The key moment
The record-breaking 3rd overtime reminded the previous quarters: made shots by Hill and Voronov brought PARMA ahead again. There was not enough strength for another Astana comeback. Defensive actions have lost in intensity – the guests have stopped to try to steal the ball. It didn’t work out in the offense either. Tired Astana players missed much more often than they made, and were limited by 4 points. The incredible game ended with PARMA win – 108:101.
Hero
Jeremiah Hill. The guard remained the main option in PARMA’s offense throughout this long game. Hill updated his personal best in points, scoring 32 points with 9 of 18 from the field in 43 minutes on the court. He also got 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks.
The saving 3-pointer at the end of the 2nd OT will go down in the League history as one of the most impressive buzzer-beaters.
Numbers
3 – so many overtimes needed to identify the winner. This is the first such moment in the League history.
Comments
Kazys Maksvytis, PARMA-PARIMATCH Head Coach :
– We could not have brought the game to three overtimes if we had controlled it better. In the 1st overtime we had to make a foul, but the opponent’s player scored a free throw. In the 2nd overtime, we started changing the defense and Evgeniy Voronov added energy from the bench. There were a lot of emotions and mental mistakes today. The main thing is that the basketball gods were on our side today, and in the end we achieved win.
Sirvidis Virginius, Astana Acting Head Coach :
– Today we fought very well, despite the fact that our bench is much shorter than that PARMA’s. But we made a lot of mistakes in defense and in the end we failed to do everything as planned. These simple mistakes decided the outcome of the game.
What’s next
PARMA-PARIMATCH: road game with versus Enisey on December 23
Astana: road game against Lokomotiv-Kuban on January 8
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