Minsk residents in Kazakhstan held a VTB United League match against Astana today. Center Zach Smith made his debut for our team in the 2023/24 season, however, due to recovery from injuries, Minsk residents are still playing with a limited squad. The match ended with the victory of the home team with the score 76:70 (28:16, 20:21, 14:19, 14:14).
Starting five:
MINSK: Daniil Kasko, Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, Vadzim Stubeda, Jakob Cebasek, Dmitrii Kuratnik.
Astana: Markell Johnson, Devin Davis, Jordan Skipper-Brown, Royce Hamm, Carvel Anderson.
The course of the game
The opening quarter was played more confidently by the owners of the site, and already in the first half they managed to get a double-digit advantage in the score, while only Jakob Chebashek scored an accurate throw in the Minsk team. After a timeout, Aliaksei Sukhavetski's wards increased the pace of the game: Daniil Kasko and Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson scored accurate three-pointers, and Zach Smith, who made his debut this season, brought his first 4 points to the team standings. The score after the opening quarter was 28:16.
Frequent misses and fouls by Minsk residents did not allow our team to significantly reduce the gap in the score in the second quarter. Daniil Kasko, Jakob Cebasek and Uladizslau Mikulski scored hits from behind the arc in the MINSK squad. Aliaksei Sukhavetski's wards demonstrated well-coordinated interaction and scored a number of points in several quick breaks, which forced Fotis Tokianos to take a timeout. The opponents left for the big break with a score of 48:37. Our team worked the third quarter with zeal to win. Accurate shots from Zach Smith, Daniil Barysevich, Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson and Grigorii Motovilov made it possible to reduce the difference in the score to the final 10 minutes of the match (62:56).
Interchange
Minsk residents continued their confident struggle in the last quarter. Jarred single-handedly scored 6 points, making the score equal on the scoreboard for the first time in the game. However, Astana did not want to give our team the long-awaited Victoria. Having made several effective attacks in a row, the owners of the site won with a score of 76:70.
The most effective:
MINSK: Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson – 28 + 7 AST + 2 STL, Zach Smith – 12 + 16 REB + 2 AST + 1 STL + 2 blocks, Uladzislau Mikulski – 9 + 1 REB + 3 AST.
Astana: Royce Hamm – 19 + 11 REB + 1 AST + 1 STL + 1 block, Markell Johnson – 12 + 1 REB + 9 AST + 3 STL + 1 block, Jordan Skipper-Brown – 12 + 7 REB + 2 STL + 1 block.
Acting head coach of MINSK Aliaksei Sukhavetski: “Acting head coach of MINSK Alexey Sukhovetsky: “Congratulations to Astana on the victory. Today was an equal game both in terms of statistics and the score on the scoreboard. We came out with the right energy. The new player, Zach Smith, played his part and brought that energy. He helped us a lot today, it's easier to control the shield with him. Even though we lost the shield today, but literally by 3 rebounds. We had a few free throws in the end, but unfortunately we didn't score. But we found them – it was the right rhythm and attitude of the players. We will get better to score such important shots. I talk about it almost after every game, we are not giving up on this and I am sure we will achieve our goal”.
Minsk residents will play their next game against MBA on March 9 at their home ground. The match will take place at Falcon Cub Arena at 15:00. Tickets for the match can be purchased on the website and at points of sale kvitki.by . Let's support MINSK together!