Another defeat of «Astana» on the road

13.11.2017, 09:00    Views: 631
Source: VTB United league
Author:
The Estonian «Kalev»  on its home court won over Kazakhstan «Astana» — 83:73 (22:17, 23:19, 21:19, 17:18).

The hosts seized the initiative from the first minutes of the game. The Estonians were successful in the tactics with their «big» ones under the ring and had a good percentage of three-pointers (53% — 7 out of 13). A newcomer of «Kalev» Isaiah Briscoe had truly arrived in the game. The American made several successful takes and gave 5 passes. The guests, by tradition, made a bet on the individual skills of their foreign players. However, the heroism of Justin Carter (11 points in the first half) was not enough to keep the team afloat. Only a series of long-range hits from Anton Ponomarev and Leonidas Kaselakis in the end of the second quarter helped «Astana» leave for a big break, losing less than 10 points — 45:36.
 
In the key moment «Astana» tried to organize a chase, but on their way stood the restless Briscoe. The newcomer switched from the role of the point-guard to the shooting-guard mode. American player thanks to his individual skill ruined the defence of «Astana» over and over again. Two of his good passes in the beginning of the fourth 10-minute made the advantage of «Kalev» quite obvious — 73:55. In the remaining time, guests were able to bridge the gap to 10 points, but the inaccurate shots behind the arc, in the end, did not give them the opportunity to make a comeback.
 
The most effective:
  • Kalev: Isaiah Briscoe (20 + 5 rebounds + 6 assists), Bojan Subotic (18 + 5 rebounds), Branko Mirkovic (11 + 5 rebounds), Cedric Simmons (11 + 5 rebounds).
  • «Astana»: Justin Carter (21 + 6 rebounds + 5 assists + 3 steals), Leonidas Kaselakis (16), Larry Gordon (10), Ike Udano (6 + 10 rebounds).

Head coach of «Kalev» Alar Varrak:
- The first victory! And for the first time this season there was no moment when we would lose control of the game. In the last three games, such unpleasant episodes had happened regularly — we missed the opponent's 0:15 or 0:10 runs. Today we managed to avoid this. The new player  Isaiah Briscoe helped us a lot — now we are confident with the following matches.»
 
The head coach of «Astana» Kostas Fleavarakis:
- To be honest, it's very difficult to comment on today's game. For us, this is the fifth away game, which greatly affects the shape of the leading players. I have nothing more to say, I can only congratulate Kalev on the victory and the excellent atmosphere in the arena.
 
The next match «Astana» will hold at home, on November 18, the basketball players of Astana will host Krasnoyarsk «Yenisey» within the framework of the VTB United League Championship.


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