Close battle in Yekaterinburg ends in defeat
From the opening whistle, our team showed up ready to compete in Yekaterinburg, despite facing another setback. Just before this match, “Astana” lost a key starter, Markell Johnson. This put much of the playmaking responsibilities on Rustam Murzagaliyev, Alexander Orazbekov, and Vadim Shcherbak. Daniel Utomi got us on the scoreboard first with a three-pointer, and for the first eight minutes, “Astana” held the lead. However, the home team’s tight defense and back-to-back steals by Jeremiah Martin allowed “Uralmash” to close the first quarter ahead, 16-14.
The second quarter started rough, as “Uralmash” went on an 11-0 run, led by Vyacheslav Zaitsev, who had his best game of the season so far. Andrey Desyatnikov faced relentless pressure under the rim, with Tyrell Nelson and Johnny O’Bryant making life difficult in the paint. In the latter half of the quarter, Galin Smith had a shooting streak for “Astana,” adding 8 points to our tally. Unfortunately, a high turnover count (13 in the first half) kept us from cutting into “Uralmash’s” lead, and we went into halftime trailing, 37-29.
The third quarter started on a high note for “Astana.” Danila Pokhodyaev put up 5 quick points, and Vadim Shcherbak’s three-pointer brought us within a single possession. But “Uralmash” quickly ramped up their defense. Each time Desyatnikov got the ball, he was fouled immediately, and Zaitsev kept the pressure on offensively. In the closing minutes, Pokhodyaev’s hustle helped us narrow the gap to five points. We took the third quarter, ending it with the scoreboard showing 57-52.
In the fourth quarter, a comeback was still within reach. Pokhodyaev and Orazbekov put in a solid effort to turn the tide, but their individual plays weren’t quite enough to secure the win. Ultimately, we fell to “Uralmash” in a hard-fought game, with the final score at 72-62.
“Uralmash” 72 — “Astana” 62
(16:14, 21:15, 20:23, 15:10)
“Uralmash”: Vyacheslav Zaitsev (22 points, 4 rebounds), Jeremiah Martin (13 points, 5 steals), Johnny O’Bryant (13 points, 9 rebounds)
“Astana”: Daniel Utomi (19 points, 8 rebounds), Danila Pokhodyaev (18 points, 8 rebounds), Galin Smith (12 points, 6 rebounds)
Gleb Plotnikov, Head Coach of “Astana”:
“First, I’d like to congratulate «Uralmash» on their win. I’m proud of our guys’ performance today – they didn’t give up and showed resilience. We’ve struggled with our second-half play recently, but I think we’ve broken that curse today. However, 24 turnovers cost us dearly. It’s tough to win when the rivals have that many opportunities. But I’m seeing improvements in our teamwork, and overall, I’m pleased with our performance.”
Rostislav Vergun, Acting Head Coach of “Uralmash”:
“I want to thank the fans — they truly played the role of the sixth man. It wasn’t as spectacular as we’d like, and there were objective reasons for that. Three tough away games plus injuries left the players emotionally drained, affecting our shooting percentage. «Astana» is currently playing very freely, riding a wave of good momentum. They put up a solid, intelligent competition, and I’m glad we managed to win despite the challenges.”
