We return the debt to Enisey

Main team news

16.03.2024

The basketball players of UNICS, angered by the recent misfire in Perm and remembering the January loss to Enisey in Krasnoyarsk (80:94), came out on the court of the Sever arena extremely motivated and took convincing revenge against the Siberians with a devastating difference of «+24» – 93:69.

Like fighters from different weight categories, the VTB League leader boxed with a top-6 outsider in the first half, and in the 3rd ten minutes sent the hosts to a knockout - 26:9. Velimir PERASOVIC's team won each of the quarters, and in the opening of the final period brought their lead to the maximum «+30» – 75:45 after three from ZAITCEV.

The Kazan team surpassed the Siberians on the boards, collecting 12 more rebounds (44 to 32), more precisely «shot» from behind the arc (10/22 three-pointers), and also showed well-coordinated team basketball, distributing 21 assists. Marcos KNIGHT was the most productive among the guests, scoring 19 points. Louis LABEYRIE collected a quarter of all UNICS rebounds – 11 out of 44.

VTB United League. Regular season. The 2nd stage. The 31st round.
Enisey (Krasnoyarsk region) – UNICS (Kazan) – 69:93 (20:22, 14:17, 9:26, 26:28).
UNICS: Knight (19), Green (16 + 4 assists + 3 rebounds), Dimitrijevic (14 + 6 assists + 4 rebounds), Bako (10 + 5 rebounds), Labeyrie (8 + 11 rebounds + 3 assists), Reynolds (8 + 5 rebounds), Odinokov (8 + 4 rebounds), Zaitcev (6 + 4 assists), Stulenkov (4 + 2 rebounds).
Enisey: Rathan-Mays (28 + 6 rebounds + 4 assists).

POST-MATCH COMMENTS:

Velimir PERASOVIC, BC UNICS head coach:

«We were seriously preparing for the match in Krasnoyarsk, because we lost very easily here in the first round. We understood that we were going to have a difficult match. The Krasnoyarsk team presented a big surprise, demonstrating excellent basketball during the season.

In the first half UNICS dominated but we could not break away from the score. In the third quarter, we played very well and created an advantage of more than 20 points. This handicap allowed us to fully control the situation in the final ten minutes. Then we slowed down a bit, but that didn't stop us from winning a big victory. I am happy with the team's performance. I am glad that after the defeat in the last round, we returned to the winning path».

Vladislav ODINOKOV, BC UNICS forward:

«We have trained well and thoroughly analyzed the opponent, down to the nuances. Today, the guys felt confident, everyone was fighting for themselves and their friend, everyone was helping each other. My partners found me with passes on the perimeter, and I made several long-range attempts.

I was assigned to defend Rathan-Mayes. I admit, before the match, it felt like playing against Michael Jordan. But I think we managed to stop him, first of all by teamwork. The Enisey leader scored his points only at the end, when everything was already decided».