We lost to Pari NN in the pre-season SuperCup

Main team news

22.09.2023

UNICS, in the absence of the injured Erick Green, was defeated by Pari Nizhny Novgorod in the last minute of the quarterfinal match of the VTB United League pre-season SuperCup with a score of 82:86. Kazan significantly outperformed the opponent on the boards, taking 13 more rebounds (36 to 23), but Nizhny Novgorod turned out to be more accurate from behind the arc - 11 realized 3-point shots out of 25 (44%) against 5/15 from to the arc of the white-greens (33%).

Marcos KNIGHT was the most productive in the UNICS team, scoring 19 points and 8 rebounds. Neno Dimitrijevic added 16 points with 8 assists. Jalen REYNOLDS has 16 points and 5 rebounds. Louis LABEYRIE brought 15 points to the team.

Due to injuries, guard Erick Green and center Ivan Lazarev did not take part in the match.

UNICS (Kazan) – Pari Nizhny Novgorod – 82:86 (20:18, 21:24, 22:23,19:21).
UNICS: Knight (19+8 rebounds+2 steals), Dimitrijevic (16+8 assists+3 rebounds+2 steals), Reynolds (16+5 rebounds), Labeyrie (15+2 rebounds), Bako (13+6 rebounds).
Pari NN: Khvostov (18), Vorontsevich (13), Chadov (12+4 rebounds), Cosey (10), Apic (10).

On Saturday, September 23, at 14:00, UNICS will face the loser of the other quarterfinal match between Zenit St. Petersburg and Besiktas Istanbul.

POST-MATCH COMMENTS:

Velimir PERASOVIC, BC UNICS head coach:

«We played a bad match both defensively and offensively. Congratulations to Nizhny Novgorod. Today they were stronger physically and mentally and deserved to win».

Vyacheslav ZAITCEV, BC UNICS guard:

«We have already played the third match with Pari Nizhny Novgorod this month. Therefore, we understood how our opponents would play. Nizhny Novgorod studied us perfectly. Perhaps they were better tactically and physically. Besides, they really wanted to win. We also set ourselves up for a positive result, but it turned out the way it turned out.

I think all the teams are preparing for the match with the current champion in a special way. We understand that to defend the title is often more difficult than winning it. But we will certainly make every effort to do this».