Following tradition, Lokomotiv rebranded for the playoffs: not only their home jerseys but also the arena’s decor were painted black, crimson, and gold. Another premiere of the evening was the song “Yo, Loko,” performed before the game by Lolita Suvorova, D. Steff, and the Elizavetintsy folk Cossack choir.
Vince Hunter opened the scoring. Brendan Adams responded with a three-pointer, but Krasnodar’s players also showed they were ready to hit the basket from afar–Mike Moore and Kirill Temirov made it 8:5. Hunter was great in the paint, consistently scoring despite hard contact. After Patrick Miller‘s 2+1, the gap grew to 10 points – 19:9. A miss by B. Adams followed by a three-pointer by Moore, forced Yevgeny Pashutin to call a timeout in the 6th minute.
If the pause helped Perm at all, it was only on defense – Lokomotiv didn’t allow their opponents anything at their own basket for a while, and only Lev Svinin managed to score a single basket before the first break (though it was a three-pointer). Daniil Kasko, who returned to Krasnodar from his loan in Saratov, made a decent start–two steals in two minutes. The hosts won the 1st quarter confidently–28:12.
The game became much more intense in the 2nd quarter: BETCITY PARMA reached their foul limit in the 13th minute, Lokomotiv in the 14th. Alexander Zakharov got 4 personal fouls, and Jalen Adams got 3. Jeremiah Martin blocked Ivan Yegorov‘s shot from the arc, and Miller made a great assist to Alen Hadzibegovic, who was forgotten by his opponents under the basket. It was 38:17, and Pashutin called his second timeout.
Another block by Martin gave Miller the opportunity to outrun Terrell Carter and score. Miller didn’t stop there, immediately calling Carter for an offensive foul. Gleb Firsov carried the Perm team on his shoulders during this stretch: 2 blocks in one Lokomotiv attack, 4 made free throws. The lead was still big, 44:25. Hadzibegovic dunked, but over the next 1,5 minutes, BETCITY PARMA scored 8 points in 3 attacks, 47:33. Martin didn’t score in the final attack of the first half, but he didn’t let his opponents do it either, making a steal just before the buzzer.
Martin‘s contested shot set the tone for the third quarter. Anton Kvitkovskikh and Hunter soon followed with similar baskets, but B. Adams and Carter did the same. B. Adams‘ long-range shot and Alexander Shashkov‘s layup further narrowed the gap, and after Carter‘s dunk, Tomislav Tomović called a timeout – 55:46. For a while, BETCITY PARMA continued to finish every attack with points, until Kvitkovskikh made a steal that was converted into free throws by Ishchenko, 60:52. Another Kvitkovskikh deflection led to a steal by Hadzibegovic, and Martin scored in acrobatic fashion. The visitors committed few fouls during this period, but these were the 4th personals for key players Carter and J. Adams. Hadzibegovic scored a fadeaway shot, and Kvitkovskikh stopped Carter with a foul of his own—and a technical for the Perm center, who acted unsportsmanlike after falling. Victor Sanders hit a three-pointer; it was crucial to respond with a basket before the end of the quarter—and Martin did just that, scoring from the perimeter at the very end of the possession, 68:60 at the final break.
In the 4th quarter, Lokomotiv began to find success again in fast breaks and in finding their way to the hoop through the dense opposition. On the downside, this didn’t translate into any points: a couple of times the ball bounced out of the basket mockingly. Firsov scored once, twice, and our lead fell down to just 4points. Miller made a steal, hit a mid-range shot, but Stanislav Ilnitsky responded with a contested three-pointer, making it 70:67 for Lokomotiv. Moore made one of two free throws, and B. Adams hit another three-pointer, reducing the gap to minimum, 71:70! Oh, where had “+24” gone!..
Moore was fouled on again, and this time he made both free throws, immediately stealing and running for a dunk. Firsov scored, but Miller scored too. Firsov missed, seconds later, Hunter got 2 second chance points, 79:72. Svinin made a basket from the perimeter, Martin responded with a layup from close range, Hunter forced a turnover on Firsov, and then was fouled while performing a dunk. The free throws were accurate, and Ishchenko scored two points on the extended possession, making it 85:75 with 4 minutes left.
The Lokomotiv team we saw at the start of the game was back in action: a nimble defense prevents BETCITY PARMA from getting a shot with 24 seconds left, and Hunter furiously slams the ball into the basket, thanking Moore for an offensive rebound. Sanders gets three points back, 87:78, but Hunter responds with a precise layup, Miller makes another steal, hits free throws, and the outcome of the game is no longer in doubt.
The best-of-five series now sits 1-0 in our favor. The teams will play again in Krasnodar on April 29. The start is scheduled at 8:00 PM.