In domination mode: UNICS stopped a bold debutant

Main team news

19.10.2023

Velimir Perasovic's team won the 3rd victory in a row at the start of the season, winning each of the quarters against Uralmash, bringing the advantage to «+31» in the 4th quarter and defeating the ambitious newcomer of the VTB United League with a score of 94:67.

Louis LABEYRIE and Jalen REYNOLDS brought the team a total of 39 points with 16 rebounds, and Neno DIMITRIJEVIC updated his personal record for the number of assists in his career – 14, adding 5 steals and 12 points to it.

VTB United League. Regular season. 4th round.
UNICS (Kazan) – Uralmash (Ekaterinburg) – 94:67 (29:17, 23:21, 21:14, 21:15)
UNICS: Labeyrie (21 + 9 rebounds + 2 blocked shots + 2 assists + 2 steals), Reynolds (18 + 7 rebounds), Dimitrijevic (12 + 14 assists + 5 steals), Knight (11 + 3 assists), Kulagin (10 + 2 assists), Bako (8 + 5 rebounds).
Uralmash: Ellis (20 + 4 rebounds), Nevels (17 + 7 rebounds), Zakharov (12 + 4 assists).

POST-MATCH COMMENTS:

Velimir PERASOVIC, BC UNICS head coach:

«I am happy and satisfied because we have won. Uralmash is a very serious team. In previous matches, they have demonstrated that they can beat any opponent. Their victories over Zenit and Lokomotiv Kuban proved it. Today we played solidly from the very beginning. Yes, we had some problems under our board. But then we managed to restrain their rebounds in attack and play much better. If in the first half they took eight rebounds under our board, then after the half time – only one. That's the difference. Now we need to start thinking about the next match. Every game in this championship will be difficult».

Vyacheslav ZAITCEV, BC UNICS point guard:

«We were seriously preparing for this match, as we knew that Uralmash had started the season strongly. Despite the fact that they have risen from the Superleague, they have an excellent team. We prepared well, dismantled them and won. We could have played even better in defense, but 67 missed points is a good result.

We had a two-week break. Of course, after such a break, it's not easy to get back into the rhythm of the game. But I think we did a good job and approached the matches fully prepared. Thanks a lot to the fans for their support!»

Milos PAVICEVIC, BC Uralmash head coach:

«Congratulations to UNICS on a well-deserved victory. The team played very well against us. It is difficult to say what is the reason for our low percentage of shots. We need to watch the game and analyze which attacks we scored from and which ones we missed. I'm not ready to answer right now. We prepared to UNICS the same way we would to any other opponent.

The first quarter was a turning point. We let the hosts execute too many free attacks and score too many easy points. It was not possible to provide the necessary resistance from the first minutes. This predetermined the result of the game. Then, however, we managed to get up to 10 points in the score, but we didn't have enough for more.

Kazan is my hometown. I grew up here, graduated from the institute. UNICS is my hometown club, I've been supporting it all my life. Therefore, I admit, today was a difficult match for me. But I am a professional and I was still determined to play with my team as best as possible. But, unfortunately, it didn't work out for other reasons».