On November 24, the men's team in Krasnoyarsk played with Enisey. In an incredible and intense duel, MINSK took revenge and won the first victory of the season with a score 63:61 (13:17, 26:17, 17:12, 7:15).
Starting fives
MINSK: Daniil Kasko, Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo, Darol Hernandez Zinenko, Supreme Hannah, Uladzislau Blizniuk.
Enisey: Angelo Warner, Alexandr Gudumak, James Thompson, Yauheni Beliankou, Timofei Gerasimov.
Game scenario
The 4:0 breakthrough in favor of the Krasnoyarsk team was a success due to a number of mistakes on the part of our team. The first 2 points from Minsk residents were obtained by Supreme Hannah. After that, Uladzislau Blizniuk equalized the score on the scoreboard in two attempts from the penalty spot, and the “three-point” from Supreme put MINSK ahead (6:7). After Rostislav Vergun's wards made a number of offensive blunders and losses, the opponent managed to get a double-digit number on the scoreboard, and the head coach took a timeout. In two effective attacks, Darol Hernandez Zinenko helped the team get important points, the teams went to the break with a score of 17:13.
Only in the fourth minute of the second quarter, Minsk residents were able to make an effective throw into the ring of the Enisey. Uladzislau Blizniuk arranged a sniper duel with Krasnoyarsk residents, making two throws from behind the arc in two attacks in a row. Accurate free throws by Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo and Kanstantsin Pasko (28:24) helped to reduce the difference in the score. Minsk residents took a confident pace: a throw from an average distance and a +1 free kick by Vlad Blizniuk left Drazen Anzulovic's team with only three points of advantage. Despite the attempt of “Enisey” to regain a confident lead on the home court, “MINSK” followed its plan and came out ahead thanks to the “three-pointers” of Supreme Hannah and Kiryl Sitnik (32:33). Our team began to manage shots from behind the arc - in less than a minute, Benjamin–Pavel Dodoo and Supreme Hanna scored three more points. The teams went to the big break with a score of 34:39.
From a long distance, Supreme made the fourth “three-point” throw and +10 on the scoreboard at MINSK (34:44). ”Enisey” did not give up trying to get ahead of Minsk residents in scoring, but our team confidently maintained the lead. Again, Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo scored two incredible “three-point” shots and our team went to the final break with a double-digit advantage (46:56).
Interchange
Definitely our team managed to throw from behind the arc today. Kiryl Sitnik got another +3 at the start of the final quarter, increasing the difference in the score between the teams to 12 points. Enisey stepped up work on rebounds and made more effective attacks than MINSK, reducing the difference in the score to 5 points in the last minute of the game. Two more points into our ring from the opponent 30 seconds before the end of the game left MINSK with only 2 points of advantage. However, our team was able to work in defense and finish the game with the first victory of the season with a score of 63:61.
Figure: 11 – so many “three-point” shots were made today by the joint efforts of Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo, Supreme Hannah, Uladzislau Blizniuk and Kiryl Sitnik.
Head coach of MINSK Rostislav Vergun:
– Many thanks to the guys for the quality of basketball, their patience and dedication. We played confidently, controlled the game, especially for 35 minutes. Congratulations to the whole club, the whole organization on the first victory of the season. In this game, Enisey was the favorite. The team shows good basketball during the first 9-10 matches, but lost a lot of games in the endings. We understood that it would not be easy for us. I think we coped with the leader, were able to impose our game, made it more difficult for the opponent to act against us. We scored a couple of lucky goals, there's no denying it, but we probably should have won today and we did it. Once again, I congratulate the team on the victory and move on.
The most productive:
MINSK: Supreme Hannah – 18 + 4 REB + 2 AST + 1 STL, Benjamin-Pavel Dodoo – 15 + 2 REB + 1 AST + 3 STL, Uladzislau Blizniuk – 12 + 2 REB + 4 AST + 3 STL.
Enisey: Angelo Warner – 16 + 5 REB + 3 AST, Orlando Coleman – 13 + 4 REB + 1 AST + 2 STL, Sergey Balashov – 11 + 3 REB + 1 AST + 1 STL.
On November 29, MINSK will once again play an away match against Kazan UNICS. The starting face-off is at 7:00 PM.