UNICS defeated Lokomotiv Kuban in the opening game of the regular season – 91:73 (21:11, 21:14, 28:26, 21:22)
Game progress
In the first game of the new United League regular season, the last season’s finalists played – UNICS hosted Lokomotiv Kuban at Basket Hall.
Although Loko performed much better than the Kazan team in the preseason SuperCup, UNICS made it clear from the very first quarter that the hosts are in favour here. By the middle of the opening quarter, Artem Komolov and Jalen Reynolds gave the Kazan team offense a boost. Reynolds and Louis Labeyrie began to beat Loko defense, and two consecutive three-pointera by Komolov at the end of the quarter made the hosts lead double-digit – 21:11.
The second quarter was Dmitry Kulagin and Nenad Dimitrijevic duo performance: UNICS newcomer and last year’s Finals MVP made 15 points combine. Not only did the hosts offensive efforts play an important role, but also their defense. Velimir Perasovic team allowed the opponents to score only 25 points in the first half.
At the start of the second half, Komolov brought the Kazan team lead to 20 points with another three-pointer. Despite that, the Krasnodar team, playing without three key players, didn’t let up. Okaro White, the leader of Loko offense, had a great stretch. His activity led to the guests cutting the deficit to 13 points – 58:45.
Key moment
But that proved to be the visitors’ last burst of productivity. Komolov and Reynolds continued to made three-pointers, giving UNICS back a big lead. The final quarter was a formality, with Aleksander Sekulic team running out of time to save the game. The reigning champions continued their winning streak against Loko, which had already reached five games, taking into account last season’s final series.
Fact
All of UNICS starting five players had at least one block, including Vladislav Odinokov, who played only six minutes. In total, the hosts starting five had 7 blocks, Labeyrie got 3 of them. Loko players failed to block their opponents’ shots even once.
Key factor
Although Dimitrijevic should be recognized as the best player of the game, should note Reynolds and Komolov, who came off the bench. Jalen worked well with Labeyrie and the Russian guard didn’t let his sniping abilities be questioned. Reynolds and Komolov made 6 of 10 three-point shots and scored 28 points.
Leaders
UNICS: Nenad Dimitrijevic (22 + 7 assists), Jalen Reynolds (16 + 5 rebounds), Artem Komolov (12), Louis Labeyrie (11 + 7 rebounds + 3 blocks), Marcos Knight (9 + 5 rebounds).
Lokomotiv Kuban: Okaro White (18 + 5 rebounds)
Next game
UNICS: October 5 on the road against Pari Nizhny Novgorod
Lokomotiv Kuban: October 5 at home against PARMA
