A victory with a taste of «bad game»: how UNICS and Uralmash ushered in a new era of basketball in Kazan
For the first time, the Basket-Hall hosted an innovative tournament where every match is a spectacle
For the first time, the Kazan Basket-Hall opened its doors to the new Winline Basket Cup tournament. For UNICS, it was the first home match. However, for the Kazan team, the well-deserved victory today came as no surprise: after triumphing over the struggling Zenit in November, the team once again demonstrated its superiority by beating Uralmash, a mid-table team from the VTB United League. Although the fourth quarter (23:28) showed that Rostislav Vergun's team is capable of surprises, it did not affect the final result. The final score on the scoreboard — 97:75 (28:18, 19:14, 27:15, 23:28) — convincingly demonstrated the home team's superiority. Read more in the Realnoe Vremya article.
«As a little boy, I watched NBA games — it was cool»
As it has become clear, the Winline Basket Cup is more than just classic basketball. The tournament introduces many innovations: the design of the parquet and stands has been completely changed, the players' uniforms have been updated, and the matches are opened with performances by invited artists, which creates a special atmosphere and affects the mood of the basketball players themselves. The only thing that remains unchanged is the game, which attracted more than three thousand fans to the stands today.
For UNICS defender Dmitry Kulagin, the updated atmosphere of the tournament was a pleasant surprise, reminding him of his childhood years when he followed the NBA, where every match turns into a spectacle. Although the player had previously admitted that he is not a regular viewer of the overseas league nowadays, this experience clearly won his approval.
«The music that plays on the court during the game is unusual. As a little boy, I watched NBA games — it was cool. I think the fans like it, and it's very good for popularizing basketball. I'm sure many are coming for the first time, and this will be a great memory for them,» Kulagin shared.
UNICS played most of the match with a short rotation
UNICS started the match powerfully, thanks to the efforts of Marcus Bingham and Andrey Lopatin, making a strong start with a 13:2 lead in just 3.5 minutes. The dominant front line, reinforced from the bench by Jalen Reynolds, scored a total of 27 points (12/18 from the field) in 20 minutes. Despite only two accurate long-range shots in two quarters, the Kazan team confidently controlled the course of the game, going into the big break with a comfortable 15-point lead.
«For 30 minutes we showed good defence. But in the last quarter our defensive game weakened and we gave a bit,» Kazan coach Velimir Perasovic explained at the post-match press conference.
However, when asked what happened to the team towards the end of the match, which caused them to concede 28 points in the fourth quarter, he replied succinctly:
«We played badly.»
Following the head coach, captain Kulagin praised the opponents, especially noting the decision of their coaching staff to put only Russian players on the court towards the end of the match. This is important because, as Ilona Kortsin, general director of the VTB United League, previously explained, there are not many high-level Russian players in the country, and their number is definitely not enough for all League participants.
«I noticed that Russian basketball players and young guys were playing. You could see their стремление, their desire to prove themselves. I believe that largely thanks to this desire, they were able to show basketball on a whole new level compared to us. Of course, as professionals, we cannot afford to relax — it's unacceptable,» the Kazan captain said.
Shved creates, and the guys «work hard»
UNICS played most of the match with a short rotation of eight players. The recently signed Alexey Shved, the most productive player in the history of the League, provided significant support to the Kazan team. Today, the star veteran demonstrated a new facet of his talent, focusing on playmaking: he scored 7 points and made 11 assists.
However, Perasovic refrained from singling out anyone personally, emphasizing the team's achievement:
«I think Alexey had a good game, as did many other basketball players. Look at Marcus Bingham's statistics. Dishon Pierre was also great. Mikhail Belenitsky and Andrey Lopatin played well in defence. So Shved is not the only one who performed well today. I understand the interest in him, but we are a team.»
Reminder:** UNICS's next game in the new tournament will be again against Uralmash in Yekaterinburg on January 14. In the VTB United League, the next opponent for the Kazan team will be MBA-MAI. The game will take place on December 16, starting at 19:00 Moscow time.
Match statistics for the Winline Basket Cup tournament:
UNICS — Uralmash — 97:75 (28:18, 19:14, 27:15, 23:28).
Leaders of the Kazan team:** Marcus Bingham (20 points + 9 rebounds), Dmitry Kulagin (16 points), Andrey Lopatin (14 points + 7 rebounds), Dishon Pierre (14 points), Alexey Shved (6 points + 11 assists).
Leaders of the factory team:** Timofey Gerasimov (20 points), Octavius Ellis (16 points), Tyrell Nelson (12 points).