Martyuk was included in the starting lineup and scored the first two points for Russia – but the team was losing 0:5 at that point. However, by the end of the first quarter, Zoran Lukic’s players managed to almost even the score (13:15), and at the beginning of the next ten minutes, they made a run of 11:0. At the end of the half, another Lokomotiv alumnus delighted the crowd: Timofey Gerasimov scored from the center of the court – but just a little after the siren, so the shot was not counted. However, Russia was still leading 33:28 at that point.
The first shot of our national team after the resumption of the game was scored again by Martyuk, and soon he already had 10 points. Nevertheless, the Tunisians gradually managed not only to equalize, but also to break ahead by 9 points – this distance was maintained throughout almost the entire 4th quarter. But then two accurate 3-pointers by Andrei Lopatin brought the Russian team back into the fight, and the nerve-wracking end of the period flowed into overtime, 67:67.
At the very beginning of the extra five minutes, Emchenko shone: an important rebound on his own shield and an assist to Lopatin. Three-pointers by Alexander Shcherbenev and Anton Astapkovich created a comfortable gap, and the final score from the free throw line was set by the same Emchenko – 81:73.
Vladislav had 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in the match. Martyuk had 10 points and 4 rebounds.
On November 24 at 4 PM the Russian team will play Libya.