Avtodor Saratov defeated Parma Perm on the road, 101-97 (19-21, 25-24, 26-21, 16-20, 15-11).
Top Scorers
Parma: Ivan Ukhov (29+9 reb), Danilo Andjusic (23), Ivan Nelubov (16+10 reb), Sergei Chernov (6+8 ast)
Avtodor: Nick Minnerath (21+9 reb), Vince Hunter (20+10 reb), Branden Frazier (15), Marquis Teague (12+5 ast), Evgeny Kolesnikov (11)
Intro
Parma lost in overtime to UNICS in the final game of 2016, finishing the calendar year with an 0-11 record.
Entering Saturday’s game, the home team hoped to start 2017 with a win, especially with 2-8 Avtodor visiting the Molot.
Avtodor also had a lot of motivation. The club struggled during the first three months of the season to pick up wins and found itself mired in 11th place, two and a half games back of a playoff spot.
Recap
Neither team led by more than eight points in this game. The score at halftime was 45-44 in favor of Parma.
The visitors went up four to end the 3rd quarter and led by five with a minute to go, before a pair of Ivan Ukhov 3-pointers and Danilo Andjusic free throws put Parma on top.
With a bitter loss looming, Branden Frazier bailed out Avtodor with a three-point play, forcing overtime in Perm.
To the dismay of the home crowd, the visitors took control of the extra period, leading by 1-2 possessions for the duration.
Frazier sealed the win at the line, draining four consecutive freebies, then getting his own rebound and scoring on a layup after a miss in the final seconds.
Stat
79 – Avtodor’s starting lineup scored 79 of the team’s 101 points.
Quotes
Parma head coach Viacheslav Shushakov:
– To be honest, I’m very upset. We were very close to a win. It was so close… A few simple baskets were all we needed. Because of our lack of experience, there was a lot of pressure, which is why we missed a few times at the end. That had an impact on the outcome. We came up a little short, but we are growing. We were even closer to victory today, but luck was not on our side.
Avtodor head coach Vladimir Antsiferov:
– We prepared for this game and knew it would be tough, since the home team had everything on the line, but the same was true for us. We also needed to win. Unfortunately, it took us a long time to get going and we let Perm hit a lot of 3-pointers. Once our opponent smelled blood, as the saying goes, they started hitting even contested shots. Nonetheless, our positive approach and desire to compete until the end brought us a win. Congratulations to my players. This win means a lot to us.
Snapshot
Up Next
Parma: January 15 vs. Zenit
Avtodor: January 15 vs. Enisey
