People from all over the country came to Perm to support Lokomotiv- Kuban – nine people gathered in the fan section. Kudos to them!
BETCITY PARMA packed their paint full early in the game and took a 0:5 lead. Finally, Vince Hunter scored for Lokomotiv, after which the Krasnodar team, rather unexpectedly for their opponents, switched to three-pointers: Kirill Temirov and Mike Moore made it from the perimeter. From there, the game opened up–both teams began to score on each other in strict turns. But after Anton Kvitkovskikh‘s dunk, the seesaw broke down, and not in our favor–in the final 4 minutes of the quarter, the Perm team made a 14:0 run: sometimes, like in Jeremiah Martin‘s case, the ball bounced out of the hoop, sometimes their shot selection was poor, and Loko were also significantly outrebounded–that’s how the score turned 16:27 at the first intermission.
Ivan Yegorov added another 4 points to BETCITY PARMA’s lead early in the 2nd quarter. Between those baskets, there was Loko attack with 4 consecutive missed shots. All of this clearly threw the Krasnodar offense off balance, with zero points scored in 4.5 minutes. Including the first quarter, the shutout streak lasted 9 minutes, during which the home team went on a 21:0 run, bringing the overall score to 16:34. Temirov finally clawed 2 points on a counterattack, followed by a steal and a dunk by Patrick Miller. After that, things started to go more or less smoothly: Martin scored twice, Vsevolod Ishchenko dribbled the whole court making 2 more points, and Loko’s free throw percentage approached 100. Just before the buzzer, Ishchenko created a good three-point attempt but missed, leaving it 33-48.
To come back, Loko needed, first and foremost, to start defending effectively. And for the first 1.5 minutes of the 3rd quarter, they was doing just that. Martin cut the gap to “–13”, but it quickly grew to 19 thanks to Gleb Firsov‘s momentum. Hunter tried to galvanize the Krasnodar team not only with baskets but also with passion—the center even received a technical foul for excessive emotions. Kvitkovskikh scored first from beyond the arc, then from 4 meters out. Alen Hadzibegovic began to win rebound after rebound, scoring a couple of times in tough situations. Martin, Ishchenko, and Moore each hit three-pointers, bringing the margin to 10 points. Even though it was Firsov who scored the last shot of the 3rd quarter (59:71), this was clearly a completely different basketball.
Lokomotiv stopped BETCITY PARMA’s first three 4th-quarter attacks, and after Miller‘s shot, the gap was no longer double-digit, 63:71. Krasnodar’s players continued to grab rebounds, and Miller kept finishing off the attacks – he didn’t always score, but still he made 2+1, then 2 more, and after another captain’s basket, the distance was minimal, 70:71. Brendan Adams scored in the run, but Moore tied the score from the arc, 73:73! After Yevgeny Pashutin‘s timeout, the hosts scored 5 points in a row – Alexander Shashkov hit from close range, Lev Svinin from long range.
Now Tomislav Tomović called a timeout. After the restart, Martin‘s basket came in handy. B. Adams missed his shot, Miller grabbed the rebound, and the ball ended up in the hands of Moore, who tied the score for the second time in three minutes–78:78! The tireless B. Adams (who play the full 40 minutes without substitutions that evening) also decided to shoot from distance–miss. Hunter found a way to the hoop and nailed it, 82:80.
Shashkov quickly tied the score, but Miller immediately brought the lead to Loko again–84:82 with 46 seconds left. BETCITY PARMA’s next attack was stopped with a steal by Martin. Ishchenko was fouled on, and he made 1 of 2 free throws. Soon, Svinin shot to tie the game, but missed. Moore was fouled on, and he made both free throw attempts, 85:80.
After another home team timeout, Firsov quickly scores 2 points, and Ishchenko converts 1 of 2 free throws again. With 20 seconds remaining, Perm needs to make up 4 points, Jalen Adams rushes to do so with a three-point shot–but it is wide. Hunter grabs the rebound, and it’s a win. In the game and in the whole series.
By the way, this is how they cheered for the team in Krasnodar–at a group viewing on the 7.10 Entertainment Portal.
Lokomotiv Kuban’s semifinal opponent will be CSKA, which won its series against Yenisei 3-0 earlier today. The first two games will be held on May 12 and 14 in Moscow, and we play in Krasnodar on May 18 and 20.
We last faced CSKA in the playoffs in the 2022/23 season semifinals and won that series 4-3, so this team has a good example to match. Go, Loko!