“Astana” could not snatch a victory from “Nizhniy Novgorod” in a tough ending

The final 2019  home game within the VTB United League with  “Nizhny Novgorod” ended with the first home defeat of the capital's team.

The score in the game was opened by our team, but “Nizhniy Novgorod’’ quite confidently gave their answers to this. The first minutes of the game took place in a shoot-out format, from which the guests from Nizhny Novgorod emerged victoriously and it was they who were the leaders in the first quarter. However, the advantage of “NN” was slim, as our guys proved by quickly neutralizing their backlog, and then seizing the leadership role. As a result, BC “Astana” gained 5 points advantage by the end of the first quarter. The game did not slow down in the second quarter, and the battle on the floor was very fierce. The metropolitan team retained their advantage, but, unfortunately, not for long. Five minutes before the end of the first half the score was equal, and then “NN” came forward. The “tug of war” did not stop before the start of the big break, our guys once again managed to level the score and come forward, but the ending, like the first half, was left to the guests — 41:44.



The frequent change of leader in the first half of the meeting only confirmed that both teams today are determined only to win and that in the second half the fans of both teams were waiting for an equally exciting fight. In confirmation of this, “Astana” quickly stepped forward and again allowed the rivals to catch them up. The game of “cat and mouse” continued until the middle of the third quarter, and then BC “Astana” experienced a serious failure, which was skillfully used by the guests, who for the first time in this game brought the gap to a two-digit number, and their maximum reached +14. The wards of Emil Rajkovic, as well as the coach himself, clearly did not settle with such a scenario, and he was able to give the right push for the last 2 minutes of the third quarter. It was impossible to completely eliminate the backlog, but it was almost halved. The final quarter began very nervously when both teams scored very poorly. Yellow-turquoise could cope with the nerves and five minutes before the end of the game kindled the intrigue in the game with renewed vigor, only 4 points behind. But the rivals seemed to catch the second, much-needed breath, for the final push. It is important to note that the players of “NN” fouled a lot during the game, and at the end of the game the fruits of such an aggressive game appeared — their leaders began to leave the court with the fouls troubles. BC “Astana” again had a chance to tip the scales to its side, and the difference a minute before the final siren was only 3 points. But, alas, today everything turned out not in our favor, and the metropolitan team suffered the first defeat on their home court this season — 79:84 (24:19, 17:25, 23:28, 15:12).

Most productive:

• “Astana” — Malcolm Hill became the most productive player of the game and was one step away from the hero of the game, gaining 12 points in the fourth quarter only. Dusan Ristic draws up another double-double — 14 points and 10 rebounds. Also, Coti Clarke has 16 points, 5 rebounds. And Jeremiah Hill became the leader in both assists — 11, which is suitable for a playmaker, but Jeremiah was only the second tallest from the bottom of the roster lists in this game, but became the top shot-blocker of the game; it’s worth a lot.
• “Nizhny Novgorod” — Brandon Brown and Darral Willis became the main driving force of the opponents, which brought them victory today, Brandon has 24 points and 6 assists, and Darral has 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Head coach of BC “Astana” — Emil Raikovich:
- We had a chance to win, but we did not use it. “Nizhny Novgorod” is a very good team. The guests today had a big rotation, they played very aggressively all 40 minutes. Now we need to look for a way out of this situation and move on.

Head coach of “Nizhny Novgorod” — Zoran Lukic:
- First, I want to congratulate my team on a very important away victory. In fact, we controlled the entire game. In the end, they lost concentration, but the opponent managed to reduce the backlog. We need to work on our game at such times.

Consequences: “Astana” having lost, the third game in a row went down to line 10 of the standings, letting “Nizhny Novgorod” above, which now dug in seventh position.

Next game: The Presidential Basketball Club “Astana” on December 9 and 10 will host “Tobol” from Kostanay for the first time in the regular season of Kazakh National League. The next United League game our guys will play away on December 15 against CSKA, Moscow.
 

Detailed information about the tournament, standings, schedule and match results are published in the Tournaments section.