Today, on May 6, our team entered the most responsible and spectacular fight of this season – the final series of matches for the title of champions of Belarus in basketball. The opponent in the final, as in several previous seasons, was the Mogilev team “Borisfen". In the first match, “Tsmoki-Minsk” won with a score 84:72 (18:23, 22:15, 15:21, 29:13).
Game progress
At the beginning of the meeting, both teams entered the fight, maintaining parity. Following the opponent who scored the first two points, Yauheni Beliankou brought the return points to our team. Maksim Karattsou “three-point” shot took the team to the lead in the third minute of the match (6:4). With another throw from behind the arc, Daniil Barysevich got a double–digit advantage for the "Dragons" on the scoreboard - 11:7. However, the aggressive struggle of our guys led to fouls, and the Mogilev opponent was able to recoup hits from the penalty line. A minute before the end of the first quarter, the score became equal, and the next 55 seconds luck was on the side of "Borisfen", who managed to get 5 more points, including from the penalty line. The teams left for the break with a score of 23:18.
At the start of the second quarter, the advantage remained with the owners of the site. The “three-point” hits from Yauheni Beliankou and Aliaksei Trastinetski allowed to bring down the opponent's pace. With another brilliant “three–point”, the captain of “Tsmoki” again returned the leadership to the team (36:35). A powerful mood for victory was felt on both sides - alternately conceding a couple of points to each other, the teams fought almost level until the big break. The quarter ended with a score of 40:38 in favor of Rostislav Vergun's wards.
With a scoring run of 6 points, Andrey Krivonos' team took the lead after a long break, but by the middle of the quarter, our players, due to reliable protection and accurate hits from an average distance, returned “+1” to the scoreboard (51:50). The fight for each point was played out in earnest, and despite the strict sports attitude, emotions began to prevail more and more often among the players — as a result, fouls also became more frequent. At this time, the opponent from Mogilev didn't give up — the score changed in favor of one or the other team. A minute and a half before the end of the quarter, with the score 55:55, the teams continued the equal fight. Unfortunately, "Borisfen" managed to get 4 more points in two attacks, and the teams left with a score of 59:55 for the last break.
The key point
The final, valid quarter, heated up emotions on the court to the limit – Yauheni Beliankou once again returned the advantage to the team with an accurate “three-piece”. At the same time, in the first five minutes of the quarter, the score became equal 4 (!) times. A number of hits Uladzislau Blizniuk and Yauheni Beliankou were able to get 8 points of advantage for the “dragons”, and two minutes before the end of the match “Tsmoki-Minsk" played with an advantage of 10 points. For the remaining 60 seconds of the meeting, the hosts of the venue could not cope with the current champions, and the meeting ended with the victory of our team with a score of 84:72.
Hero
Yauheni Beliankou became the most productive player of the first match of the final series of the championship of the Republic of Belarus. In 31 minutes on the court, Zhenya scored 27 points, with the implementation of hits from an average distance — 90%, made 6 rebounds and 1 steal, the efficiency — 25.
The most productive:
"Tsmoki-Minsk": Yauheni Beliankou – 27 + 6 REB + 1 STL, Uladzislau Blizniuk – 24 + 4 REB + 2 AST + 2 STL.
“Borisfen": Tiwayne McKee – 23 + 5 REB +1 AST + 3 STL, Andrey Ageenko – 13 + 5 REB +1 AST + 3 STL.
Head coach of the team “Tsmoki-Minsk" Rostislav Vergun:
— The first game of the final is the most important match. Psychologically, it was necessary to start this final series with a victory. We understood the atmosphere in which we were going to play. For me, everything is obvious – the number of “missed” from the penalty line is probably the best confirmation of this. We can do better, and we will throw better. We got into the game, and the aggressiveness that forced the opponent to foul gave us a boost and an advantage at the end, which was important for me. This is just the first match. Another battle awaits us on Sunday.
Team player Yauheni Beliankou:
— These are the final games, which are always difficult to play, especially at home at Borysthenes, in such an atmosphere. We have achieved the first victory, and we are preparing for the next game.
What's next
The second match with the "Knights" will take place again on the opponent's court this Sunday – May 8. The starting face-off is at 14:00. Let's rooting for our team!