We are defeating Uralmash and gaining a foothold in the 2nd place

Main team news

18.12.2023

UNICS in Ekaterinburg confidently beat the debutant of the VTB Uralmash United League with a score of 89:80 and strengthened to the 2nd position in the table, winning the third victory in a row.

The guests took over the initiative from the first seconds of the match, not once in 40 minutes allowing the hosts to come forward. Following the results of the starting ten minutes, UNICS created a comfortable reserve for itself (27:19), which it retained until the final siren. By the middle of the 3rd quarter, Kazan achieved the maximum «+15» after and one from Marcos KNIGHT (68:53). 3:27 before the end of the match, Uralmash approached the 5-point distance (77:82), but 7 unanswered points in a row from our guys removed all questions about the winner of the game.

The main creators of success were Marcos KNIGHT (24 + 5 rebounds + 5 assists) and Erick GREEN, who scored 20 points. Jalen REYNOLDS stopped a step away from a double-double, who recorded 10 points and 9 rebounds. Center Ismael BAKO scored 8 points, 7 rebounds, and also repeated the VTB League season record for blocked shots - 6 (!).

Due to injuries and illnesses, guards Nenad DIMITRIJEVIC and Dmitry KULAGIN, as well as center Ivan LAZAREV, did not participate in the game.

Velimir Perasovic's team will play its next match on the floor of the Kazan Basket Hall on Thursday, December 21, against the permanent champion of Belarus Minsk.

Uralmash (Ekaterinburg) – UNICS (Kazan) – 80:89 (19:27, 20:21, 22:26, 19:15).
Uralmash Ellis (30 + 10 rebounds), Douglas (11), Nelson (11), Nevels (10).
UNICS: Knight (24 + 5 rebounds + 5 assists), Green (20), Reynolds (10 + 9 rebounds), Stulenkov (9 + 3 rebounds), Labeyrie (8 + 4 rebounds), Bako (8 + 7 rebounds + 6 blocked shots).

POST-MATCH COMMENTS:

Velimir PERASOVIC, BC UNICS head coach:

«Today's game turned out to be difficult for us. In particular, because we arrived in Ekaterinburg without our two playmakers Nenad Dimitrijevic and Dmitry Kulagin. We knew that Uralmash is a good and very athletic team. We started the match with the full concentration and went on a half time with a comfortable advantage. Despite the fact that the home team's center Octavius Ellis showed an outstanding game, UNICS controlled the course of the match for the entire 40 minutes and achieved a confident victory».

Erick GREEN, BC UNICS guard:

«We showed a great game in Ekaterinburg. All the guys made an effort to win. Now we are returning to Kazan and looking forward to the next two home matches on the floor of the Basket Hall in front of our fans».

Alexander STULENKOV, BC UNICS forward:

«Congratulations to the team and our fans! We are pleased with today's result. I think the key factors of the victory were the aggressive defensive play and the advantage on the rebound, thanks to which we managed to achieve our goals. Now we go back to Kazan and start preparing hard for the match against Minsk. We are waiting for all the fans in the stands of the Basket Hall, we need your support».