The hall predictably clogged up to the point of failure, and from the starting seconds the fans drove the hosts forward. With energy and aggression, the latter had an order in the starting 3 minutes (5 rebounds in attack), but with composure – not very much (the same number of three-point misses).
Meanwhile, the army men played in their signature style: they did not seem to apply any super-efforts and did not demonstrate something beyond cosmic in the attack, but time after time they turned out to be free on the three-point arc. Actually, this is exactly what the coach of “Loco” Stanislav Zbarsky, who dismantled the game of CSKA on the shelves and bones, was talking about before the match. But it’s one thing to know that a crowbar is a dangerous thing, and it’s quite another to find an adequate antidote against it.
It was not found in the wards of Alexander Sekulich. It seems that there were some bright bursts in their game – for example, Vladislav Yemchenko came off the bench coolly, who realized three power passes in a row – but their actions lacked stability and organization.
Already in the 5th minute of the meeting, the debut in the form of “Loko” – a brand new, red – forward Okaro White took place. He did not spoil the picture – he defended well, fought for selection, scored a difficult ball with a deflection once – but just a clear picture in the game of the hosts was not tracked.
Throughout the first half, CSKA’s lead fluctuated around 5-8 points. And under her curtain, after a cool hidden pass from Nikita Kurbanov, who is already experiencing the third or fourth youth, Nikola Milutinov made this gap double–digit for the first time – 45:35.
Almost immediately after the break, the guests doubled their advantage. The same Kurbanov, Ivan Ukhov and Kasper Ware scored in a row from behind the arc – and already 59:39 in favor of the red–blue. At the 26th minute it became quite sad – 72:46 after 5 consecutive points in the performance of Alexey Shved. It was not the first time in the season that Loko categorically failed the third quarter.
Just in case, I remembered that not so long ago, in the same hall and with the same krutetsky fans, the Krasnodar team played “-26” at Zenit. Exactly the same was the advantage of CSKA before the final quarter.
The stands of the Basket Hall launched a wave, danced, hugged, made marriage proposals to their individual representatives, knocked on the drums – in general, they did everything to transfer their energy to the players. But, as at the very beginning of the match, everything was fine with the energy of Sekulic’s wards. But with the protection and organization of the attack – much worse. They never managed to build a chase.
The next match of Lokomotiv-Kuban will be held on February 14 – in Moscow against the IBA. From the point of view of the struggle for the highest possible seeding in the playoffs, the game is the most important. However, there are no others for Loko in the framework of the regular season.