«Astana» played another home game in the VTB United League. The opponent was Moscow's «Runa,» and it was the first game between our club and the League newcomer.
Two facts added context to the match: «Astana» had never won against Moscow clubs in the championship, and at the same time, they were on a historic streak of five consecutive home victories, defeating «Avtodor,» «Lokomotiv-Kuban,» «Uralmash,» «MINSK,» and «Samara» on the court (the latter for the first time). The match promised to be very interesting.
Oleg Kiselev's team started the game with a fast pace and reached a good advantage by halftime. However, in the third quarter, «Runa» managed to get back into the game. As a result, the «Astana» match went into overtime for the first time in a long time – the final quarter ended with a score of 82:82. The struggle in the last five minutes turned out to be tense, but the victory remained with the guests – 90:93.
Karvel Anderson made seven three-pointers for the third consecutive game – he scored a total of 25 points. Also notable were Royce Hamm (21 points and 12 rebounds, the 4th double-double of the season) and Adam Kunkel (20 points and 5 assists).
«I want to congratulate both teams; it was indeed a tense match, not easy to play here. 'Astana' is an excellent athletic team with a good coaching staff. I am very proud of my players because they fight in every game regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in,» — said Rune's head coach, Ertugrul Erdogan, after the match.
On December 3, «Astana» will host Moscow's CSKA, with the match starting at 3:00 pm. Tickets are already on sale.
