«Astana» played its first away match in the new VTB United League season — and emerged victorious! The match against «Pari Nizhny Novgorod» kept fans in suspense until the final seconds but concluded with a win for the Kazakhstani club.
At the start, the situation was unfavorable for Oleg Kiselyov's team. They were scheduled to fly first to Moscow and then to Nizhny Novgorod early in the morning on the 18th of October. However, due to a flight delay, they had to stay in Astana, change their tickets, and head to Russia only on the day of the game.
Nonetheless, the guests challenged «Pari Nizhny Novgorod, « right from the first minutes and took the lead. The hosts could only regain the advantage in the middle of the first quarter. However, despite this, the period ended with «Astana» trailing by just three points. The tense confrontation continued in the following ten minutes, with both teams tied at 41:41 at halftime.
«Pari Nizhny Novgorod» won the third quarter but still couldn't establish a substantial lead. This allowed the Kazakhstani club to equalize the score and take the lead with five and a half minutes until the final buzzer. Despite the hosts trying their best to overcome the gap, they couldn't pull it off — the final score was 73:78 in favor of «Astana.»
This result is unique as it marks the capital club's first victory in Nizhny Novgorod since 2011 and the first win against «Pari NN» in six years. «Astana» has won against this team for the fourth time in their 22-match history of encounters.
The standout performers in our team were Marcell Johnson (24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals), Royce Hamm (20 points, 8 rebounds), Carvell Anderson (14 points), and Devin Davis (11 points, 7 rebounds).
A slight setback was Marcell Johnson's injury in the game's final moments. According to «Astana» head coach Oleg Kiselyov, his participation in the next game is uncertain.
The next match for «Astana» will take place on the 25th of October at the Saryarka Velodrome, with «Avtodor» coming to the capital. The game will start at 8:00 pm, and tickets are available on «Let's Go!» and Ticketon.kz.
