Week 4 in review: Kalev shock contenders, Loko turn around faceoff with UNICS

Week 4 in review: Kalev shock contenders, Loko turn around faceoff with UNICS

Another week – another sensation!

Loko beat UNICS for the first time in 2 years

The game of the week was held in Krasnodar: Lokomotiv-Kuban beat UNICS for the first time since May 2017 in front of 3 thousand fans.

The game had its plot twists. Loko had gained 11-point lead by the halftime break, but UNICS managed to revive the intrigue thanks to Errick McCollum in fire (16 points in 3rd period). Sam Dekker appeared on the scene in the decisive moment: Krasnodar forward worked in the defense and ended a series of attacks getting the W for his team.

Johnny O’Bryant was another hero. Apart from 9 rebounds he did great with assists (6). Two Krasnodar centers scored 34 points:

 

Kalev shock Zenit

Kalev Tallinn who played last season’s playoffs chagned a lot during the summer. Roberts Stelmahers replaced Donaldas Kairys as a head coach, and foreign leaders left the team. Nonetheless, Kalev managed to build a strong roster and keeps on surprising: last week they destroyed UNICS, and this Monday shocked Zenit – 84:80.

At the same time, it’s not fair to say that Zenit was bad in the defense: Joan Plaza’s team tried to cover the opponents even after turnovers:

But three-pointers were crucial in this game: Kalev made 12 of 24, and then Kyle Vinales drove through traffic in decisive possesion. Zenit lost in Tallinn some days after the first win in Euroleague. After 4 weeks of the season, Kalev is the 2nd in standing after…

…Still flawless Khimki

One of the last week’s hero, Astana came to Moscow region motivated to bring the first defeat to Khimki. And they the grounds for that: Isaiah Whitehead made his debut in Astana, and Alexey Shved missed the game.

But Rimas Kurtinaitis’ team showed perfect defense allowing only 56 points. At the same time, four yellow-blues scored 10+ points: Devin Booker, Jonas Jerebko, Jeremy Evans and Dairis Bertans. They got the fifth win in a row.

Khimki increase the lead in the standings and remain the only undefeated team in 2019/20 season.

Dunk of the week

Jeremy Evans airlines take off and posterize ignoring Dusan Ristic!

 

Enisey make the best start in 9 United League seasons

Krasnoyarsk brought the first sensation of the season when Enisey beat CSKA. And this week Drazen Anzulovic’s side proved it was not a matter of luck: win over Avtodor was the third in four games. And the game was not only about the foreigners: 11 players got on the court in the first half, and Ilya Popov was the best in efficiency with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
After the break, Avtodor erased the 10-point margin and got to one-shot differential one minute before the buzzer. However, that did not help. Enisey, in contrast, have the most successful start of the season: 3-1 record and they’re in the first half of the standings.

 

CSKA get to positive win-loss record

It took 5 games for the reigning champion to get the positive record. This week they passed through Zielona Gora with +40 differential.
CSKA again dominated from beyond the arc making 17 three-pointers which was close to the season record.
Nikita Kurbanov’s dunk was the highlight of the night: the forward drove to the basket and ignored Zielona Gora’s defense:

 

“Nizhny Novgorod beat us in 5 minutes”

Nizhny Novgorod keep up with Enisey and Kalev. Last week they got a win in Saint Petersburg, and this Sunday beat Tsmoki.
According to Minsk head coach Rostislav Vergun, his team lost “in the first 5 minutes of the second half.”

Which is true. Before the break, Tsmoki resisted, but failed the third quarter (-19) and didn’t manage to recover – 77:82.

Darral Willis became the hero of the night making an amazing double-double: 28 points an 10 rebounds, plus extraordinary dunk in a fastbreak:

Nizhny stay in Top-3 thanks to this win.

Team of the week

Standings

Khimki still undefeated, Kalev, Nizhny, and Enisey share the second place.