It could have been assumed that Uralmash would bring an experimental roster to a game with no particular tournament significance. But the experiment turned out to be much larger than even the boldest predictions – out of 10 people in the Yekaterinburg roster, four were from the youth team: Artem Fomin, Matvey Reshetov, Vladislav Smagin and Yegor Nikishenko. However, Octavius Ellis, whose participation seemed unlikely, came with the team.
Lokomotiv coaches gave Patrick Miller and Antonius Cleveland a rest. Vladislav Yemchenko, Kirill Temirov and Danil Sheyanov returned to the team.
The game had a charity background – Lokomotiv sent the proceeds from ticket sales to the residents of Sudzha. In addition, the “Victory Locomotive” campaign was launched – stands with stories about the exploits of railway workers during the Great Patriotic War were installed in the lobby of the Basket Hall.
Uramlash started with more energy: Ellis made two great plays under the basket, Ilya Popov added 2 more points – 0:6 by the 3rd minute. Aleksandr Gudumak scored three points, but then Kirill Pisklov, apparently, remembered how he won silver at the Tokyo Olympics “3×3” competition, and scored from beyond the arc.
Yet, gradually the hosts levelled the game: 2+1 by Yemchenko; Gudumak and Andrei Martyuk skillfully used their advantage in size, and when Uralmash let the youth play, the difference in level was felt instantly. Sheyanov took the ball from the hands of Smagin, who was carrying a dunk into the bas; Mikhail Vedischev scored 2 points after the slalom, then played an alley-oop with Dmitry Uzinsky, and then scored his signature long-range shot; John Jenkins scored 5 points in half a minute; Uzinsky added 3 more – this allowed Loko to win the 1st quarter 30:22.
The beginning of the 2nd quarter was marked by a mini-duel between Ellis and Kirill Yelatontsev: both blocked each other’s shots, and this ended with a score of 2:2 – the referees counted a goaltending for the Uralmash center, and a foul for ours (the opponent scored both free throws). The visitors, thanks to the efforts of Ellis and Oleg Akramov, scored 5 points in a row, but Lokomotiv stopped this run by good work on the rebound in the attack, which allowed them to finish two attacks with second chance shots. And thanks to three-pointers by Martyuk (twice) and Anton Kvitkovskikh, the difference in the score became double-digit, 47:36.
Yemchenko and Tahjere McCall scored “2+1” each, but Ellis’s free throws, a hard shot by Pisklov, and then a half-court buzzer from Akramov returned the margin to two possessions – 53:48.
In the 3rd quarter, the show-time was over: no one allowed anyone to score without a foul (although there were some fine exceptions). Eventually, Akramov tied the game, but then Yemchenko scored his another “2+1”, then Sheyanov stole the ball from Ellis, earned a foul, scored the first free throw, and the second eventually turned into a 3-pointer by Artyom Chevarenkov – 68:61. At such a distance, the teams went through the rest of the period, although by the end of the quarter, Igor Novikov’s activity made the score 77:72.
В 4-й четверти продолжилась игра с преобладанием защиты. Тем не менее, Макколл, Емченко и Шеянов к 33-й минуте довели разницу в счёте до «+10», но хороший кураж поймал Попов, который принялся успешно завершить одну атаку своей команды за другой – 84:80 за 4.10 до сирены. Узинский и Ведищев набрали по 2 очка – Новиков 3 отыграл. С пятыми фолами выбыли Эллис и Акрамов. Однако слабая реализация штрафных хозяевами оставила соперника в игре, и за 1.42 до конца после попадания Евгения Белянкова из-за дуги стало 89:88. Дальний бросок Ведищева в следующей атаке цели не достиг, а бросок Писклова достиг – 89:91 и 1.10 до сирены.
The same defensive-style game continued in the 4th quarter. At some point, McCall, Ymchenko and Sheyanov brought the gap to “+10” by the 33rd minute, but Popov turned on fire and began to score one ball after another – 84:80 with 4.10 left. Uzinsky and Vedischev scored 2 points each – Novikov responded by 3. Ellis and Akramov were sent out with their fifth fouls. But the poor execution of the free throws by the hosts kept the opponent in the game, and with 1.42 left after Evgeny Belyankov’s shot from behind the arc it became 89:88.
Vedischev’s long-range shot in the next attack did not reach the target, and Pisklov’s shot reached it – 89:91, Uralmash is ahead with 1.10 left! After the timeout, Lokomotiv couldn’t find a good throw, the opponent rushed to counterattack, but Sheyanov blocked Novikov’s shot! Then Vedischev was fouled, and tied the score from the free throw line – 91:91.
And then once again Popov didn’t meet any resistance under our hoop, “–2” with 13 seconds on the timer. Yemchenko made a shot – missed. Lokomotiv fouled on Smagin, and the youngster secured the victory for Uralmash.
Lokomotiv will continue to play against Uralmash – this will be a quarterfinal series up to 3 wins. We start in Krasnodar on April 22 and 24. Tickets will go on sale as soon as VTB United Line confirms the exact start time of the games.