UNICS Kazan, Russia vs. «Kalev» Tallinn, Estonia

In week four of the regular season, Russian UNICS defeated Estonian Kalev at home by a wide margin, 86-72. The Kazan team took a big lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

The story
UNICS had an up-and-down start to the season and took to the Basket Hall court tonight determined to prove that their problems were behind them. The Estonian champions felt the full force of their intensity early on, as the Kazan club began aggressively, seizing a quick 7-point lead. Aivar Kuusmaa called a time-out, but, unfortunately for the visitors, the consultation didn’t help matters. UNICS dominated, continuing to cultivate its lead. Thanks to Veremeenko, Lyday, and Kaimakoglou, the Russians ended the first quarter with style, up 32-11.

The conclusion
To their credit, the Estonians didn’t give up and tried to climb back in the game in the second quarter. UNICS, for their part, slowed the frenetic pace. Kalev won the second quarter, 16-13; however, the home team still led by 18 at halftime. In the second half, the experienced Kazan side shut down their visitors’ every attempt to make the game interesting and rode the game out to victory, 86-72.

The hero
Terrell Lyday. Kazan’s top shooter proved his credentials with a stellar performance. Averaging a team-high 13.3 points/game through 3 contests, the guard put up 23 points tonight.

Stat of the game
1 – Kazan won by double digits, but only outscored Kalev in one of the four quarters! The second, third, and fourth quarters went to the visitors by a small margin, but their terrible start was just too much to overcome.

Top performers
UNICS: Terrell Lyday – 23 points, 8 rebounds.
Kalev: Keith Mc Leod – 20 points.