Lokomotiv got into the game slowly – Anton Kvitkovskikh‘s 2 points were the Krasnodar team’s only ones for a while, and Yenisei took a 7:2 lead. However, Kvitkovskikh soon scored twice more to tie the game, after which it was Dmitry Sonko‘s turn – the Yenisei forward hit 2 three-pointers in a row. Vince Hunter kept Loko in the game by dunking and then scoring in a hard contact. However, Lokomotiv’s free throw percentage left much to be desired, and by the end of the 1st quarter, Krasnoyarsk had built a sizable lead – 25:17.
As the 2nd quarter began, Artyom Shlegel made the lead double-digit. Every time Ilya Popov, Hunter, or Kvitkovskikh scored, Yenisei players brought the gap back to that mark. At one point, it even reached “–12”, but then Vsevolod Ishchenko stepped up, scoring twice in a row in quick transition. By the big break, the scoreboard read 47:37 in Yenisei’s favor. Lokomotiv’s 3-point percentage was pretty poor—just 12.5% (1 of 8).
After the switch, Yenisei took a 16-point lead at one point, but this surge was halted by Hunter, who scored from under the basket, Jeremiah Martin from beyond the arc, and Patrick Miller, who suddenly blocked a shot from Danilo Tasić. After a good ball movement episode, Martin brought the game back to within 10 points – 45:55 by the 24th minute. Gradually, the Krasnodar players gained confidence on defense and rebounding, and the gap began to close faster: Martin hit a great shot from beyond the arc, made a steal on the next play, and made it 56:59. However, Yenisei prevailed at the end of the quarter – 4 straight points, making it 56:63 at the break.
Lokomotiv’s next basket came in the 33rd minute, when Martin made it 58:67. He soon made his 4th steal of the day and once again ran in transition, and Hunter followed suit half a minute later, making it 63:69. B.J. Johnson made two consecutive mistakes (a run and a turnover), but redeemed himself a bit with a long-range shot, making it 66:73 at the halfway point of the quarter.
More baskets would have been a big help here, but Lokomotiv’s players struggled to do it (although there were some notable exceptions). Yenisei entered the clutch with a 3-4 possession lead. Kvitkovskikh and Martin were out with their 5th foul. Tomislav Tomović‘s men fought until the very end, dragging their opponents into tactical free throw exchange. But the Krasnoyarsk team didn’t waver, and a 3-pointer by Kassius Robertson in the final minute couldn’t change anything – Yenisei beat us for the first time since 2023.
Now Lokomotiv Kuban will play in Moscow on January 14th against MBA-MAI. We believe in the team!