Under the guidance of Evgeny Ovsyannikov, the Kazakhstan national basketball team participated in two qualifying matches for the Asian Cup.
All players from Kazakhstan's primary squad, including Rustam Murzagaliyev, Vadim Shcherbak, Roman and Maxim Marchuk, Dmitry Gavrilov, Ruslan Aitkali, Askar Maidekin, along with Alexander Orazbekov from the «Astana Academy,» were summoned to the training camp. Subsequently, every one of these athletes, with the exception of Alexander, secured their place in the final lineup for the matches against India and Qatar.
On February 23, the national team defeated India at home (63:50), with Rustam Murzagaliyev scoring 18 points, making 6 three-pointers out of 13. The «Astana» captain also gained for 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Then, the team went to Qatar, where they won a challenging game: 68:73. The best player of the match was Vadim Shcherbak, who scored 18 points (5 three-pointers out of 7!) and made 5 rebounds.
Among the «Astana» players, Rustam Murzagaliyev (15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) and Maxim Marchuk (2 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) also stood out.
Now, the Kazakhstani players of «Astana» will reunite with the foreign players and continue preparing for the spring matches of the United League VTB under the leadership of Fotios Takianos. The first match following the international break is scheduled for March 3 at the «Saryarka» velodrome, where «Pari Nizhny Novgorod» will be the visiting team. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketon and «Davai Shodim!»:
https://taplink.cc/astanabasket
