Enisey broke UNICS' 7-match winning streak

Main team news

08.01.2024

After 7 wins in a row, the Kazan team, in the absence of center Jalen Reynolds, was defeated on the road, losing to the opening team of the VTB United League to Krasnoyarsk Enisey with a score of 80:94. Velimir PERASOVIC's team, despite losing, retain 2nd place in the standings with 16 wins.

The most productive member of UNICS was Neno DIMITRIJEVIC, who scored 25 points, 6 rebounds and gave 5 assists. Marcos KNIGHT added 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Dmitry KULAGIN brought 15 points to the team. Ismael BAKO scored a double-double of 10 points and 16 rebounds.

Enisey (Krasnoyarsk) – UNICS (Kazan) – 94:80 (21:15, 23:21, 23:17, 27:27).
Enisey: Rathan-Mayes (29 + 6 rebounds + 6 assists + 4 steals), Karpenko (16), Balashov (15 + 9 rebounds), Hopkins (13 + 11 rebounds), Beech (12 + 9 rebounds).
UNICS: Dimitrijevic (25 + 6 rebounds + 5 assists), Knight (17 + 4 rebounds + 4 assists), Kulagin (15 + 2 assists + 2 steals), Bako (10 + 16 rebounds), Green (7 + 2 assists).

POST-MATCH COMMENTS:

Velimir PERASOVIC, BC UNICS head coach:

«First of all, I congratulate Enisey on a well-deserved victory. The opponent looked much better than us today. From the very beginning, we came out without the energy and sufficient speed that are necessary to compete with Enisey. In my opinion, today our team showed probably one of its worst games this season. At the same time, several times during the match we had the opportunity to catch up in the score, but at that moments we lost in such key indicators as the battle for rebound, the ball on the floor and in defense in transition».

Dmitry KULAGIN, BC UNICS guard:

«Congratulations to Enisey on a well-deserved victory. The team does not always win on offense, sometimes it can defensively impose a heavy, viscous game on the opponent and win as a result. We believe that defense is our main weapon, but today we did not show the proper level in this component, conceding 94 points. We failed to stop the leader of the opponents Rathan-Mayes, as well as the Russian players, who demonstrated a good, meaningful game and high-quality basketball.

We also failed to do a lot of things offensively. UNICS missed a large number of open shots, failed to show a team game – 16 assists are not enough for us. The sad fact is that the reigning VTB United League champion did not win any of the quarters.

In conclusion, I would like to note that this is a game, and we do not always win. I think the most important thing is the ability to work on mistakes and move on. We play for our fans and for our club. It is important for us to show a high level of basketball in every match. We will strive to defend our title further no matter what».