UNICS Kazan defeated Enisey Krasnoyarsk at home, 91-76 (17-16, 21-18, 28-21, 25-21).
Top Scorers
UNICS: Quino Colom (18 + 6 ast), Stephane Lasme (17), Trent Lockett (13), Anton Ponkrashov (13)
Enisey: Anthony Hilliard (16 + 5 ast), Vitali Liutych (13), Martins Meiers (10 + 11 reb)
Story
Kazan opened the New Year with a win in the Basket Hall, easing past Enisey 91-76 behind 18 points and six assists from Quino Colom. The home team shot 52% from beyond the arc and 88% at the line to secure the victory, outscoring the visitors in each quarter.
Despite a slight edge in rebounds and 10 3-pointers, Enisey was unable to overcome a lousy showing at the charity stripe and inside the arc. The visitors went 14-25 at the line and 16-44 on two-point attempts, simply not enough offense to defeat a talented team on the road.
The game was tight at halftime. UNICS led by four, 38-34, and didn’t begin to pull away until midway through the 3rd quarter.
Up six, 51-45, Anton Ponkrashov scored five straight to give the home team its first double-digit lead of the game. That was part of a bigger 18-10 run which saw UNICS score on seven straight possessions and secure an 11-point edge entering the 4th quarter.
Enisey closed to within six early in the final period, but that was as close as they would get. UNICS made nine of 10 free throws down the stretch to score 25 in the 4th for a comfortable 15-point win.
The victory helps UNICS improve to 8-1, catching Lokomotiv-Kuban for 2nd place. Enisey drops to 2-7.
Sweet Play
Here’s @qcolom10 with a delivery to @T_Lockett24 ✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/1B4cnXvmXG
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) January 7, 2018
Stat
20-40 (50%) – both teams shot the ball extremely well from beyond the arc. UNICS was a bit more efficient, knocking down 10 of 19 attempts (52%), while Enisey needed 21 attempts to hit 10 (47%).
Quotes
UNICS head coach Dimitris Priftis:
– You need to understand that every game is big for us right now and the schedule is very tough. We’re flying to Limoges in less than two hours. We play there in two days and it will take almost a day and a half to get there. It’s a really tough trip. But I’m happy with today’s game. Every player had a part in the win.
Enisey head coach Oleg Okulov:
– As of right now, UNICS is built for different goals than us. Kazan has more talented players, but we didn’t play poorly, despite some difficult stretches. I think our poor free-throw shooting let us down. Otherwise, the game may have been more interesting for everyone. We really tried to win despite issues with our roster. In the end, we played a respectable game.
Up Next
UNICS: January 14 away vs. Nizhny Novgorod
Enisey: January 13 away vs. Tsmoki-Minsk
Photos
