Yekaterinburg’s Uralmash defeated Samara on the road, 94–75 (17–23, 29–17, 20–16, 28–19).
Main Story: Both teams hit the ground running. The lead changed hands seven times in the first five minutes alone. For most of the first half, it was a closely contested game. But the visitors closed out the second quarter stronger thanks to solid defense. As a result, Uralmash went into halftime with a 6-point lead—46–40.
The Clutch Moment: The Ural team managed to break through Samara’s resistance at the start of the final quarter. Two three-pointers by Mikhail Kulagin sparked the visitors’ run, and after a precise shot by Octavius Ellis, Uralmash’s lead reached 20 points—76–56. This advantage ultimately allowed the “factory team” to secure the victory.
X-Factor: Roster depth has become one of the key factors in Uralmash’s success. The visitors’ bench players scored 35 points, while Samara’s bench players scored 16.
Interesting Facts: Uralmash snapped a three-game losing streak.
Mikhail Kulagin made his debut for Uralmash. In 14 minutes of playing time, he made 4 of 4 three-pointers, scored 12 points, dished out 3 assists, and recorded 3 steals.
Press Conference:
Samara Head Coach Miloš Pavičević: “Thanks to the guys for fighting until the very last minute. But, of course, we were missing our injured players, especially Artmem Chevarenkov and Andrei Savrasov—it’s tough for us without those two key players. Nevertheless, they showed character and tried to stay in the game until the very end. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. By the fourth quarter, our leaders had absolutely no energy left. After all, playing 30 minutes at a high pace against Uralmash is very, very difficult. That’s why we had those unnecessary turnovers…
Of course, you could say there were some positive aspects. But we have to play forty minutes; we need to find the energy to play well for the entire forty minutes, especially on defense: not letting in easy shots, not letting our opponents grab rebounds behind us. And, of course, turnovers and fast breaks… That’s why we gave up so many points today: because of second-chance points and turnovers. But starting tomorrow, we’ll begin preparing for the game against Zenit. We need to prepare well, both mentally and tactically. We’ll work hard and try to put up a fight against such a prestigious opponent to delight our fans. We invite our fans to come support us in these crucial games. We need the energy from the stands!
Anton Yudin, head coach of Uralmash:
– In the locker room, I told the team: This is an important victory for us. It doesn’t matter where our opponents stand in the standings; first and foremost, we need to focus on the quality of our own play. At times we play very well; at other times, we play very poorly. And my task right now is to ensure that the team plays at a high level and maintains that level for much longer than we currently do during games. We need consistency. We lost three games in a row, so it’s clear that emotionally we weren’t in the best shape. I hope this victory and our home games will boost our confidence and simply lift our spirits, which will help us moving forward. The key factors today? It’s our defense. When we start putting pressure on the ball, when we make fewer mistakes than we’d like—we have some really strong stretches. I always say: offense depends on defense, and defense depends on offense—they’re interconnected. As soon as we bring a certain energy and set the tone on defense, everything goes much more smoothly for us on offense. It was the same today: we started playing a little tighter, made some steals, and scored some easy points—all of which gave the whole team an extra boost of confidence.”
Top performers
Samara: Dmitry Cheburkin (17 points + 5 rebounds), Danila Pokhodyaev (14), Alexander Petenev (14 points + 8 rebounds), Evgeny Minchenko (13 points + 9 rebounds), Zakhar Vedishchev (12)
Uralmash: Octavius Ellis (14 points, 9 rebounds), Mikhail Kulagin (12), Chris Clemons (12), Igor Volkhin (12), Kirill Popov (11), Timofey Gerasimov (10)
Up Next:
Samara: October 21 at home against Zenit
Uralmash: October 21 at home against Dynamo.
Highlights :
