«PGE Turow» Zgorzelec, Poland vs. «Krasnye Krylia» Samara, Russia

In week four of the regular season, Russian Krasnye Krylia squeaked out a win over Polish Turow on the road, 76-74. The teams played evenly for the entire game, but the visitors proved a little more lucky at the end.

The story
The home team took advantage of Krylia’s shaky play under the basket and got their opponent in foul trouble early. David Jackson went to the free-throw line 5 times in the first quarter! Aaron Miles stood out for the visitors as he regularly sliced open Turow’s defense with clever passing. Unfortunately, the American’s teammates didn’t always convert their opportunities and the teams ended the first quarter in a tie, 20-20.
In the second quarter, the home team changed its strategy and concentrated on the perimeter. They failed to gain any separation, but four ‘3’s from beyond the arc did neutralize their rebounding woes. The visitors, for their part, thanks to Vasiliev and Lydeka, flooded the paint, hitting only once from the three-point line – Evgeny Kolesnikov nailed an 8-meter attempt with 14 seconds to go in the first half, giving Krylia the 41-40 lead. In the third quarter, Turow teammates Aaron Cel and Ivan Opacak punished their opponents twice each from beyond the arc, helping their club to a 5-point lead. Entering the fourth quarter, Nikita Balashov from Krylia made his presence known with his rebounding on both ends of the court. The forward’s play helped Krylia erase their deficit. With 84 seconds to play, the scoreboard revealed a tie, 74-74.

The conclusion
After a David Jackson miss, the ball went to the visiting team. Aaron Miles calmly ran down the clock, then used a pick to free himself from his defender. His midrange jumper went in! Miodrag Rajkovic took a time-out, during which he earnestly explained to his team how to execute the final possession. Unfortunately for the home crowd, his words didn’t have their desired effect – Michal Chylinski’s shot was covered by Nikita Balashov. 76-74 the final score, yet another loss in the final minutes for the Polish club.

The hero
Tautvydas Lydeka. The Lithuanian forward played his best game of the season – in 21 minutes, he scored 15 points (6-6 under the basket) and collected 5 rebounds.

Stat of the game
45 – Turow’s three-point field-goal percentage. Not even 10 three-pointers were enough, however, for their first win of the season.

Top performers
PGE Turow: Aaron Cel – 19 points, 7 rebounds.
Krasnye Krylia: Tautvydas Lydeka – 15 points, 5 rebounds.