«Astana» played another away game in the VTB United League — this time in Saint Petersburg.
In the first half, the hosts couldn't create a significant advantage, and the teams went into the big break with a score of 47:41. The third quarter was decisive, where «Zenit» managed to increase the lead to 18 points. Despite «Astana» winning the final quarter, the final score was 95:79 in favor of Javier Pascual's team.
In the line-up of the capital club, Markell Johnson (30 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) and Royce Hamm (16 points, 7 rebounds) played particularly well.
«We are happy to win; in this game, it was difficult to take the lead before the break. We didn't play well enough in defense, and there were many opportunities to score on offense, but for various reasons, we missed. Starting from the third quarter, we took the initiative and played quite well in the second half, controlling the match until the end. That's how we won,» said the opponent's head coach, Javier Pascual, after the game.
It should be noted that our team was not without support during the game. Compatriots from the «Bayterek» Kazakh Youth Center and other Kazakhs came to cheer for «Astana.»
The next VTB United League game for Oleg Kiselev's team will be on December 24th in Saratov against «Avtodor».
