«Enisey» (5-12) came to the match on the 8th line, but in case of victory, they continued to chase the 7th «Nizhny Novgorod.» For «Astana» (2-15) game in Krasnoyarsk was the last in the current season of the United League.
The first half of the meeting was not very productive. Astana had a good stretch at the start of the match, which included an interception of Vadim Shcherbak and free throws from Maxim Marchuk. And closer to the middle of the 10-minute, Robert Pan joined in: the center scored 6 points in a row, giving the Kazakh team «+4». However, «Enisey» lagged behind the rivals throughout the entire quarter. The Krasnoyarsk team managed to level the score in the last attack — Sergey Balashov took the offensive rebound and sent the ball into the basket.
But the second 10-minute passed under the lead of «Yenisey.» Timofey Yakushin and Vladislav Trushkin made a 10-0 spurt by the middle of the quarter. By this time, «Astana» was experiencing serious problems in the attack: the team could not score from afar. It was difficult to score points in the «paint.» Marchuk and Murzagaliev slightly improved the situation for the guests — after their hits on the long break, «Astana» left with a lag of 4 points. The low performance was mainly due to many losses: «Enisey» lost the ball 12 times in the first half, «Astana» — 14.
After a long break, the speed on the court increased noticeably. Through Shcherbak, Pan, and Aitkali, «Astana» seized the lead and managed to win the 10 minutes, gaining 22 points. «Yenisey» attack went wrong, because of which the Krasnoyarsk team was losing lost on their site after three quarters — 48:50.
Remembering that they should not lose this game, the hosts began the final quarter with a 5-0 spurt, sending the opponents to a quick timeout. Timofey Gerasimov and Alexander Gudumak increased Yenisei's advantage to +7, but «Astana» would not give up so easily. Vadim Shcherbak and Mark Tikhonenko carried out two fast, effective attacks, and already Drazen Anzulovic was forced to ask for a minute pause.
In the middle of the quarter, «Astana» managed to level the score but failed to take the lead. Trushkin, Yakushin, and Viktorov organized a 9-0 spurt, and «Enisey» entered the end with a comfortable +9. Inopportunely at this moment, the Kazakh team had problems implementing attacks: in the last 5 minutes, «Astana» managed to score only 4 points. The pivotal point in the game was put by Timofey Yakushin, who scored in the drive a minute and a half before the buzzer and got the right to a bonus free throw.
Most productive: Vadim Shcherbak (16) and Robert Pan (12).
Acting head coach of «Astana» — Medan Din:
- Congratulations to Enisey on the victory; I wish you all the best in the playoffs. Today they demonstrated their character. My players also showed character today, especially in the first half of the game. But we had no chance to win this game if we made 20 losses and allowed «Yenisey» to make 15 rebounds. We have a lot of work ahead of us, the ending and the playoffs of our championship in Kazakhstan».
Detailed information about the tournament, standings, schedule, and match results are published in the
Tournaments section.
