When the rosters were announced, Loko fans had reason to rejoice: for the first time this season, the League’s best young player, Kirill Yelatontsev, was there. Avtodor fans, however, had nearly 3 times as much reason to rejoice: Alex Hamilton, who missed the previous game, returned to the lineup, as did Malik Newman and Alen Hadzibegovic, who hadn’t played yet this season (however, Dušan Beslać was absent).
Hadzibegovic was the most highlighted player in the opening minutes: his two dunks helped the hosts perform a 6:0 run. But Anton Kvitkovskikh scored 2 points in tough contact with two opponents, Patrick Miller made a great assist to Vince Hunter, Kirill Temirov scored from beyond the arc once, then again, and Lokomotiv was up 10:8.
Next came Hamilton‘s time: the Saratov point guard dished out several assists (he collected 5 in the 1st quarter), then scored himself – now Avtodor was ahead, 15:12. A minute and a half of slightly shaqtin’ followed, until Kvitkovskikh tied the game from afar. Newman entered the game and hit a 3-pointer on his first possession. But the home team fouled heavily (at one point, it was 7:0 in fouls), and free throws allowed Loko to win the first ten minutes, 19:18.
In the first two attacks of the next period, Ilya Popov scored. But then Hadzibegovic dunked once again, immediately made a steal – 23:25, and Lokomotiv’s coaches called a timeout. Vsevolod Ishchenko scored in his signature style—when no one knew which side he would step next. Popov blocked Hadzibegovic from setting up another poster, but Alexander Evseyev made a put-back, and a minute later Avtodor was up 5 points.
Yet, it seemed Lokomotiv had understood their opponent’s attacking moves. Krasnodar defense forced the home team to make bad shots, after which the points were consistently scored in quick transitions: first Miller, then Kassius Robertson. Hunter scored 2 with a foul, but missed the free throw, which, however, led to Temirov‘s 2 points. Avtodor couldn’t keep up with this pace, so Miller (twice in a row), Ivan Samoylenko, and Kvitkovskikh extended the lead. Hamilton tried to score the final points of the quarter, but he was effectively shut down, allowing Miller to launch counterattack – 9:0 run and a 44:35 lead at halftime.
As the game resumed, Avtodor scored 8 points in 3 attacks. After an emergency timeout, Loko failed to score on their first attempt, but Miller intercepted a pass from Hadzibegovic, and Temirov set up Kvitkovskikh for an open shot, 46:43. The score rarely changed over the next few minutes, with the deficit fluctuating between +3 and +5 and back again. Kvitkovskikh ended this with a shot from the perimeter. Soon, Popov increased Lokomotiv’s lead to double digits, Miller and Kvitkovskikh scored again, and the hosts seemed to be in a groggy state: Terrence Edwards missed from an easy position, which resulted in a quick transition with 2 offensive rebounds and a 3-pointer by Robertson. Ishchenko summed up the quarter – 64:47.
Avtodor needed to come back as soon as possible, so they upped the tempo. Vice versa, Loko tried to slow things down, but the hosts won 6:2 the start of the quarter. Makar Konovalov‘s 3-pointer calmed their momentum, but Hamilton also scored from afar, making it 69:56. Temirov continued the long-shot parade, making the Saratov team rush even more. But their ill-prepared shots were punished first by Temirov, then by Popov – thus increasing the gap to 20 points, 76:56, with 5 1/2 minutes left.
After a timeout, Hadzibegovic scored from the close range, but Robertson extended the lead on the next possession with a 3-pointer. His next long-range shot put the outcome of the game beyond doubt, and in the final minutes, Daniil Kasko made a bit of showtime, first hitting a three and then a dunk.
We hope, this game satisfied the employees of the Volga Railway, who came to support our team in the stands of the Kristall Sports Palace.
It’s worth noting that five Kuban players scored more than 10 points (Kvitkovskikh, Temirov, Popov, Robertson, Miller), while Hunter grabbed 12 rebounds. Yelatontsev remained on the bench.
Lokomotiv’s road trip will continue in Moscow, where they will play the ruling champion, CSKA, on November 1 at 7:30 PM (since Saturday is a workday in Russia).