This Sunday, December 16, the capital basketball club will hold its fifth home match within the framework of the VTB United League, season 2018/2019. This time the Estonian basketball club «Kalev» visits Astana.
«Kalev» - is an Estonian professional men's basketball club from the city of Tallinn, founded in 1920.
Achievements:
Chronicle of past games: Estonian Champion has participated in the VTB League since its foundation in 2009. For the previous 7 seasons, «Astana» played 12 times with the Estonian club, 9 of which ended with the victory of the capital club.
Present position: For the second season in a row, the team is led by Lithuanian specialist Donaldas Kairis. This season, «Kalev» also extended a contract with one of the leaders of the team, Serbian legionnaire Branko Mirković. The team has a good selection of American players as well.
Standings: The opponent from Estonia ranks 7th in the standings with 4 wins and 5 losses. Capital basketball club «Astana» takes 4th place, with a result of 5 wins and 3 losses.
Commentary of the head coach of BC «Astana» Emil Raikovich: “Kalev” is a very serious team, their results speak for themselves. The club has 10 reliable players who are very close-knit and play only team basketball. Estonians use zonal pressure and constantly put pressure on the player with a ball, which means that we need to perform deliberate actions in the attack and defend well against the key players Mirkovic and Lewis, who brilliantly use the pick-and-roll and one-on-one attacks. In addition, every other player is very dangerous, having quite diverse skills. In general, as always, the main task will be to effectively carry out and follow our game plan, which will allow us to win an important victory at home.»
The match will take place on December 16 at the arena of the Saryarka Cycle Track, starting at 3:00 pm, Astana time. Online tickets are available on Ticketon.kz. Live broadcast of the match will be available on our website in the Match Center section and on the QazSport channel.
Detailed information about the tournament, tournament tables, the schedule and results of the matches are published in the section Tournaments.
Basketball players of «Astana» dedicated their victory to the Independence Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Estonian club came in a good shape. Unfortunately, this match was missed by the team captain Rustam Ergali due to an injury, but there was also a good news that the club's rookie American guard Stephen Holt made his debut in the VTB League.
Starting five: Anthony Clemons, JJ O’Brien, Maxim Marchuk, Kenneth Horton, Jeffrey Grossel.
The score was open by Estonians with a triple by Branko Mirkovich. The capital club responded 2-pointer. The teams began an active game, each attack bringing points to both teams.
By the middle of the period, the scoreboard already indicated + 10 in favor of the hosts, which made the Estonians take the first break. After the timeout, «Astana» continued the game with renewed energy, increasing their advantage with each attack. As a result, the first quarter ended with a score of 24:18 in favor of «Astana».
The second period was also emotionally calm for the capital club. The team of Emil Rajkovic controlled the match, worked perfectly in defense and did not allow the opponent to attack from a long distance. The teams went for a long break with a score of 50:34 in favor of «Astana».
The third period also did not bring any changes to the game. Capital basketball players still continued to increase their advantage, but the opponent made mistakes more often. By the end of the third quarter, the difference in the score was + 30 points in favor of “Astana”. As a result, 81:51 in favor of the Kazakhstan team.
The final 10 minutes for the capital club were nominal. It was an impossible task for the Estonians to catch up. “Astana”, although realizing their advantage over the rival, did not relax until the final buzzer. The match ended with the victory of «Astana» with a score of 105: 78.
Congratulations to the whole team of Emil Rajkovic with a beautiful and important victory. This is the fifth victory in the VTB League for the capital club.
The top scorers:
«Astana» head coach Emil Raykovich:
- I would like to highlight that our players understood the importance of this game. I am very glad that today we acted competently in the attack, thought over every step, constantly looking for the weak points of the opponent. «Kalev» made fouls, and we tried to act more aggressively. I think that «Astana» will grow into a really serious team.
«Kalev» head coach Donaldas Kairys:
“Astana” is a fairly strong team that plays well in defense and offense. Our main problems were an overwhelming number of fouls and unrealized shots. Congratulations to «Astana» on a victory.'
The team will hold the next matches on the road, on November 19 and 20. «Astana» team will visit the southern capital, where they will meet with the local basketball club «Almaty Legion» within the regular Kazakhstan Championship among men's teams of the National League.
The next match of the VTB United League of «Astana» will also be held at home, exactly one week later: on December 23, the capital basketball players will host «Avtodor» Saratov basketball club on their court
Detailed information about the tournament, tournament tables, the schedule and results of the matches are published in the section Tournaments.
