UNICS in the SuperCup 3rd place game took over Lokomotiv-Kuban – 84:70 (21:22, 20:22, 21:16, 22:10).
Best scorers
UNICS: Mario Hezonja (27 + 6 steals), Marco Spisu (12), Tonye Jekiri (10 + 5 rebounds).
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Eric McCollum (19 + 9 assists), Stanton Kidd (14 + 5 rebounds), Jonathan Motley (8 + 7 rebounds).
Game progress
UNICS and Lokomotiv-Kuban lost in the semifinal games of the first Super Cup in history and met in the game for the 3rd place. Velimir Perasovic and Evgeniy Pashutin made changes to the starting five compared to Saturday’s games. What remained unchanged was the emphasis in the offensive end: the Kazan team again relied on 3-point points, while Loko basketball players were aimed at passing and active actions under the rim.
Loko made only 2 long-range shots in the first 20 minutes, and the white-greens attacked from the perimeter at the first opportunity and worked better than against Zenit – 7 out of 17 (41%) after 20 minutes. This was largely due to the successful exit of Artem Komolov, who remained in reserve in the semifinals, but today he made three attempts from deep and turned out to be the most productive for UNICS in the first half. Led by Eric McCollum and Jonathan Motley, Loko responded with an excellent 2 points releases (12/15, 80%). Opponents went through the first two quarters level, but Krasnodar team took the lead for the big break – 44: 41.
After the break, UNICS first used a proven weapon, realizing three 3-points and then seized the initiative due to three steals and easy points after fastbreaks . Pashutin responded by throwing four young players into battle together with the experienced Ivan Paunic, and this experimental combination generally worked. The third quarter was left for Kazan, but their gap before the last 10 minutes was only 2 points.
Perasovic decided not to experiment and used Hezonja from the very beginning of the fourth quarter. Mario first brought Tonye Jekiri to the rim and then scored twice in a row himself after Marco Spissu assist. Soon the Italian secured one more fastbreak, throwing from behind the arc – the advantage of UNICS became double-digit (72:62).
The key point
Pashutin returned McCollum in the game, but UNICS couldn’t be stopped. Kazan caught the courage, which materialized in the long-range shots of Isiah Canaan and Marco Spissu-78:62 3 minutes before the end. After that, UNICS confidently brought the matter to victory, taking 3rd place in the SuperCup.
Hero
Mario Hezonja. Despite the pre-season status of the tournament, the Croat played the game in combat mode and in 30 minutes on the court convinced that he would be new UNICS leader. The initiative Mario shot 9 of 18 from the field, scoring 27 points, but he was also good in his own half – he had 6 steals.
Numbers
31 – the number of Lokomotiv turnovers. Krasnodar players have greatly transformed the squad in the off-season and are still in a creative search. UNICS scored 42 points after the opponent’s turnovers.
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