УНИКС Казань, Россия vs. «Цмоки-Минск» Минск, Беларусь

Tsmoki-Minsk from Belarus defeated Russian UNICS – 91:83. The visitors went up by double digits in the 3rd and never relinquished the lead.

The Plot.
These two team’s offseasons were the polar opposites. While UNICS spent another summer in the role of a wholesale buyer on a transfer market, their opponents only acquired a couple of pieces and preferred to rely on their proven core of players and their team chemistry.
Home team started out with Joaquin Kolom and Valery Likhodey each hitting a three-pointer, but that didn’t lead to a run. Minsk evened the game with the help of their two big men – Ivan Marash and Garret Stutz. Visitors made the most of the opponent’s mistakes and at one point they were up by 9 (23:32). Anton Pankrashov and Keith Langford took turns in bringing their team back, but as soon as they would even the score Tsmoki came right back. Likhodey received an unnecessary technical and Ivan Marash hit a wild three-pointer to put his team up — 38:42.

The 3rd quarter became a showcase for Tsmoki’s offense. Garret Stutz, Ivan Marash, Branko Mirkovic and Aleksandr Kudryavtsev took turns demolishing defense, as a result Minsk scored 31 team points in the 3rd and let the game by 12 before the final quarter — 61:73.
In the fourth Justin Gray also got the scoring going for the visitors. His seven points in mid-quarter ruined any chance of comeback for UNICS. Even though the Dragons started to turn the ball over and made unforced errors in the end of game, it wasn’t enough to change the outcome.

The Hero.
Ivan Marash. Team’s offense ran through him entirely in the 1st half. He anchored their defense in the second half and also made a number of tough shots that proved to be important in the retrospect.

The Number.
6 — six Tsmoki players scored in double digits.

The Quotes
Yevgeny Pashutin. UNICS’ head coach.
We were awful defensively, it’s unacceptable to let in 93 points. Minsk’s players scored from everywhere on the court, slashed to the rim at will. We will start working on our mistakes tomorrow.
Igor Grischuk. Tsmoki-Minsk’s head coach.
I thanked my players for the win. We came into this game well prepared, watched a lot of film of UNICS’ play in the Gomelsky Cup. I think we were lucky to play them in this point of the season, because they aren’t in their prime condition quite yet.