UNICS Kazan held off VEF Riga at home, 89-84 (19-18, 24-20, 22-23, 24-23).
Top Scorers
UNICS: Quino Colom (24+7 reb+5 ast), Kostas Kaimakoglou (24+8 reb+6 ast), Keith Langford (17)
VEF: Martins Meiers (21), Janis Blums (20+7 ast), Abdul Gaddy (11+7 ast)
Turning Point
UNICS led by as much as 13 late in the 3rd quarter, before surrendering a 10-0 run to let VEF back in the game.
The 4th quarter was back and forth with Riga taking its first lead of the game, 74-73, on a 3-pointer from Janis Blums with five minutes to go.
A 7-0 run from Keith Langford briefly gave Kazan an 83-76 edge, but Riga wouldn’t quit, pulling within a point, 85-84, on back-to-back jumpers from Martins Meiers.
With less than a minute to go, Marko Banic hit a key jumper for UNICS, before a huge defensive stop ended VEF’s upset hopes.
Kazan hangs on for a five-point win, improving to 6-1, while VEF falls to 3-3.
Stat
5. UNICS center Artsiom Parakhouski recorded five blocks, tops in the League this season.
Quotes
UNICS head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
– After the game against Maccabi, the guys hadn’t recovered psychologically, naturally. But we still prepared for VEF. The team got 10 offensive rebounds in the first two quarters. They have tall, explosive athletes. In the first half, we managed to stay balanced and defend Blums. Then we got tired and let them get open shots. We led by 14, but couldn’t preserve our lead with defense. Everything was balanced on offense. The guys moved the ball.
VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
– Congratulations to our opponents on the win. The team’s leaders played well. Colom in the first half, then Langford showed what he can do in the second. We battled to the end and displayed toughness. Yes, we wanted to impose our tempo, but if someone like Colom at his age can play 40 minutes on the court, he’s tough to stop.
Up Next
UNICS: November 27 vs. Kalev
VEF: November 27 at Lokomotiv-Kuban
Snapshot
