Loko made a strong start: Ivan Samoylenko finished the first two attacks with 3-pointers, followed by Mike Moore‘s long-range shot, and soon Vince Hunter sent PARMA to an early timeout at 11:2 (interestingly, Zenit called an early timeout at Basket Hall four days earlier with exactly the same score). Stanislav Ilnitskiy started the visitors counter-run with 8 points, while Victor Sanders added 3 more, tying the score at 13:13.
The Krasnodar team tried to build a lead again, with Anton Kvitkovskikh, Kirill Temirov, Jeremiah Martin, and Makar Konovalov scoring in a variety of ways, but Perm held on thanks to long-range shots, isolation plays by Jalen Adams, and pressure from Terrell Carter in the paint. Yet, the final word in the 1st quarter remained with Loko, Martin made it 25:23.
The 2nd quarter saw no change in the game’s pattern: for the home team, in addition to Martin, Vsevolod Ishchenko also started to score, but Alexander Shashkov‘s 3-pointers and Gleb Firsov‘s solos kept the visitors within a single possession. Around the 14-minute mark, the balance shifted in Loko’s favor: a steal by Moore, several misses by PARMA, and Samoylenko‘s shot sent PARMA into a second timeout, 38:32.
Ilnitskiy scored again, but Samoylenko scored again also – from beyond the arc, just like in the game debut. Soon, Konovalov, along with the 24 seconds buzzer, made the lead double-digit, 46:36. It could have become even bigger, but Lokomotiv players’ free throw execution was far from ideal, so by the big break PARMA had returned to a 7-point margin (47:40) – exactly the same distance as when they won the 1st game of the Winline Basket Cup against us.
After the side switch, the tempo picked up sharply: BJ Johnson answered Jalen Adams‘ 2 points with a long-range shot, Carter made a put-back, Kvitkovskikh responded with 2 free throws, and immediately after Samoylenko‘s steal, two Loko players rushed on the fast break, and Hunter had enough time to execute a windmill dunk. Sanders responded with a 3-pointer, Miller immediately scored a mid-range shot, Johnson intercepted the ball, and Hunter dunked again – 58:47, all in just 3 minutes of play!
Miller made another steal, but Johnson‘s shot was blocked that time, and after that, PARMA’s attempts to slow the tempo began to pay off. Firsov completed several low-paced attacks, Ilnitsky added 3 more points, and by the 27th minute, the score was 61:56. Moore‘s basket started another high-tempo, stretch, but the misses quickly returned, and Sanders‘ last basket of the 3rd quarter made it 68:65.
Early in the 4th quarter, Carter cut the gap to one point from the free throw line, but soon made a foul himself, and the PARMA coach received a technical for disagreeing with the referees. Loko only scored one of those 3 free throws. Over the next minute and a half, Hunter repeatedly increased the lead to 4 points, but then Sanders scored from about a meter far from the 3-point line, making it 73:72. Miller, Adams, and Kvitkovskikh exchanged baskets, and after Sanders fouled on offense and Ilnitsky made a turnover, Moore restored the 6-point lead, 82:76. To Firsov and Adams, Martin responded with two isolations, but then Adams scored from the same far point as Sanders did 3 minutes earlier, making it 86:83. Simultaneously, Kvitkovskikh provoked Carter into a foul, which became 5th for the PARMA big man. Anton made one of his two free throws, and Firsov made both free throws in the next attack.
87:85. It was time to focus not on winning by a margin of +7 or more, which would give Lokomotiv the advantage over PARMA over the two cup games, but on winning itself. Hunter was fouled, making one of his two free throws. The opponent broke our high pressure, and Shashkov scored two easy points, 88:87. On the next attack, Miller stepped out of the court with the ball, and Firsov put the visitors ahead, 88:89.
Martin quickly restored the lead to Lokomotiv, with 75 seconds left to play. Adams missed from afar, but Martin, tried another iso, ran into the defense and fouled. Sanders made both shots from the line, 90:91. Firsov fouled Hunter, and this was the PARMA center’s 5th personal foul. Hunter from the free throw line put Lokomotiv in front again, 92:91 with 0.18 on the clock. Sanders scored quickly, 92:93. Martin‘s dribbling ended with slipping. Luckily, Adams also stepped out of bounds, but the game has less than two seconds; that was enough time for Johnson to throw from his own half – miss. Lokomotiv lost their 4th game of the Winline Basket Cup, thus reducing to zero a chance to reach the Final Four of this tournament.
The next game for Krasnodar team will be at home against Samara in the VTB United League on January 25 at 3:30 PM. See you at the Basket Hall! We believe in the team!