Yenisei captain Dmitry Sonko opened the scoring with a long-range shot just 14 seconds into the game. Lokomotiv’s response was quick: Vince Hunter spotted an open way to the hoop, burst in, and fired a dunk. Anton Kvitkovskikh‘s layup and Mike Moore‘s 3-pointer made it 7:3, but Krasnoyarsk quickly tied it thanks to Yegor Ryzhov. Hunter responded by showing he could score from the perimeter, and then Vsevolod Ishchenko scored five points in a row, sending Yenisei to a timeout with our 15:8 lead. Alen Hadzibegovic entered the game at exactly 5.00 time mark, immediately showing his basic instincts under the basket. Yenisei tied the game again, with Matt Coleman making it 16:18 and 18:18 right after. A long-range shot by Makar Konovalov and a dunk by Ishchenko brought the gap back to 5 points, where the teams finished the first quarter, 29:24 in favor of Lokomotiv.
The high-tempo basketball continued in the 2nd quarter: Zakhar Vedishchev and Konovalov scored on drives, while Yenisei responded with baskets from Dominic Artis and Sergei Dolinin. The pace slowed slightly toward the middle of the quarter, but Lokomotiv still maintained a solid lead, which reached double digits after Hadzibegovic‘s finish in the 17th minute—44:34. Jeremiah Martin and Kirill Temirov briefly increased the lead to 14, but Danilo Tasić and Yegor Vanin managed to shorten the gap to 52:42 before the break.
On the first possession after the restart, Hadzibegovic dunked, Hunter soon followed with a same spectacular feat, and a little later, Patrick Miller got into scoring – 60:48 by the 24th minute. The game was intense and physical, with plenty of highlights like Ishchenko‘s basket. It seemed Lokomotiv was in control, holding their opponents at a 13-15 point distance. But in the 29th minute, Yenisei quickly pulled back by 7 points. Hadzibegovic broke that streak, scoring on a pass from Martin, but the hosts had the final say in the 3rd quarter – Nikita Yevdokimov scored from the free throw line to make it 64:72 (still in Loko’s favor).
Так заключительному отрезку был задан нервный тон. Вот вроде бы Хаджибегович и Миллер снова делают разницу «+12», но две потери, два дальних попадания красноярцев – и вот всего «+6», 78:72. Страсти накалились: Ищенко получил локтём в лицо от Тасича, наставник «Енисея» вдобавок схлопотал технический – но всё, что «Локо» набрал штрафными, быстро отыграл Коулмэн своими 2+1. И тут как нельзя кстати пришлось дальнее попадание Квитковских, 85:76.Через минуту произошёл ещё один важный эпизод: Миллер совершил перехват и вывел на открытое кольцо Хантера. А после тайм-аута «Енисея» Темиров из угла площадки, по сути, предопределил исход матча – 90:77 за полторы минуты до сирены. Аллей-уп, который до конца матча успели разыграть Коулмэн с Рыжовым, смог разве что подсластить красноярским болельщикам горечь поражения.
Thus, the tense tone of the final period was set. It seemed Hadzibegovic and Miller were once again making the difference 12-all, but two turnovers and two long-range shots from Krasnoyarsk brought the score to 78:72. Passions ran high: Ishchenko received an elbow to the face from Tasić, and the Yenisei coach also picked up a technical, but whatever Lokomotiv gained in these free throws, Coleman quickly took back with 2+1. Kvitkovskikh‘s long-range shot came in handy, making it 85:76. A minute later, another important moment occurred: Miller made a steal and set up Hunter for the open basket. And after a Yenisei timeout, Temirov, from the corner of the court, essentially sealed the result – 90:77 with a minute and a half left in the buzzer. The alley-oop that Coleman and Ryzhov played before the end of the match only sweetened the bitterness of defeat for the Krasnoyarsk fans a bit.
Tomislav Tomović bounced back from the loss he suffered a month ago in his debut as head coach of Lokomotiv. Hadzibegovic had a strong debut, leading our team in scoring with 19 points, while Ishchenko not only got a double-double (12+15) but also set a VTB United League record for rebounds by a guard.
On March 11, Lokomotiv will play their last Winline Basket Cup game against CSKA in Moscow.