UNICS Kazan defeated Lokomotiv-Kuban Krasnodar on the road, 77-67 (16-20, 25-26, 17-17, 19-4).
Top Scorers
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Chris Babb (20), Mardy Collins (15 + 5 reb), Joe Ragland (11)
UNICS: Jamar Smith (17), Quino Colom (11 + 5 ast), Kostas Kaimakoglou (11), Anton Ponkrashov (10 + 5 ast)
Story
Both teams were undefeated entering today’s game, posting 2-0 starts in the VTB United League and leading their respective EuroCup groups.
Mardy Collins and Pavel Antipov got Krasnodar going with a pair of 3-pointers, while UNICS made a living at the free-throw line, connecting on 10 of 10 attempts in the 1st quarter.
Through 10 minutes, Loko enjoyed a slight edge, 20-16, capped by Brian Qvale’s dunk to end the period.
UNICS started strong in the 2nd. Kostas Kaimakoglou scored on a pair of lay-ups and Evgeny Kolesnikov drilled a 3-pointer to give the visitors a 28-24 lead.
Krasnodar turned the score around with another flurry of triples: Dmitry Khvostov, Joe Ragland, and Chris Babb each connected to put Loko on top, 37-35. Babb capped a strong first half for the home team by draining a contested ‘3’ at the buzzer, 46-41 Lokomotiv.
Loko controlled the tempo much of the 3rd quarter, leading by as many as 12 points. But the visitors pulled to within five on a triple from Kaimakoglou, 63-58, setting up a dramatic 4th quarter.
Turning Point
After averaging 21 points per period over the first 30 minutes, Loko’s offense went ice cold down the stretch. Chris Babb’s jumper with 6:08 remaining gave the home team a two-point lead, 67-65. Remarkably, Krasnodar would not score again, giving up 12 unanswered points to close the game while shooting 0-14 in the final six minutes.
UNICS emerges from Krasnodar with a perfect 3-0 record, moving into a tie for 1st place in the standings. Loko drops to 2-1.
Highlights
One minute highlights 📹@lokobasket vs @unicsbasket pic.twitter.com/bcWmfnNEfh
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) October 21, 2017
Quotes
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Sasa OBRADOVIC:
– We are a little stunned. The game was ours in the middle of the 3rd quarter. We didn’t let them score easy baskets, but then everything seemed to stop. We stopped scoring in the 4th quarter, but that’s not an excuse. More than anything, we stopped getting the ball inside. Players saw opportunities, but didn’t take advantage for some reason. We weren’t playing at a high tempo and a team like UNICS took advantage. This is a very tough loss to swallow, but we need to keep moving forward.
UNICS head coach Dimitrios PRIFTIS:
– This was a tough game. Lokomotiv-Kuban is a very serious team and they played with a lot of intensity. We needed to keep up with them and play at the same speed. The most important thing is that we stayed calm when Loko went up by 12. When a team with that roster and coach only scores four points, that tells you a lot. The biggest thing for me was that every player had a part in this success.
Alley-Oop
Up Next
Lokomotiv-Kuban: October 28 home vs. Nizhny Novgorod
UNICS: November 5 away vs. Tsmoki-Minsk
Snapshot
