2020-21Top 16Round 2
UNICS Kazan 73
Herbalife Gran Canaria 62
January 20, 2021 CET: 17:00
Local time: 19:00 BASKET HALL KAZAN

UNICS's defense stops Gran Canaria

UNICS Kazan remained undefeated in Top 16 Group H by downing Herbalife Gran Canaria 73-62 at home on Wednesday. UNICS improved to 2-0 in the standings while Gran Canaria dropped to 0-2. John Holland led the winners with 14 points and Jamar Smith and Artem Klimenko each scored 13 for UNICS. Stan Okoye led Gran Canaria with 12 points and Oliver Stevic added 10 for the guests. UNICS led 17-11 after 10 minutes and held a 33-30 lead at halftime. Gran Canaria kept its chances alive for 35 minutes, 58-53, but Holland and Isaiah Canaan fueled a 10-0 run that sealed the outcome long before the final buzzer.

Canaan got UNICS going with a three-pointer and Okaro White added a jumper for a 5-2 lead. Okoye struck from downtown and Aleksander Balcerowski scored down low to put Gran Canaria ahead, 5-7. Sean Kilpatrick nailed a jumper, but Jordan Theodore and Georgy Zhbanov helped UNICS regain the lead, 10-9. Nate Wolters followed a driving basket with a layup off a steal and Smith added a buzzer-beating triple to boost the hosts' lead to 17-11 after 10 minutes. Beqa Burjanadze scored around the basket and Javier Beiran downed a corner three-pointer in an 0-8 run that A.J. Slaughter capped with a jumper to give Gran Canaria a 17-19 edge. Klimenko rescued UNICS and Smith buried his second three-pointer as UNICS went up 25-20. Okoye connected from beyond the arc and Stevic scored twice in the paint to tie it at 27-27. Klimenko hit a jump hook which Tomas Dimsa bettered him with a huge step-back triple. Smith downed a jumper and Klimenko gave his team a 33-30 edge at halftime.

John Shurna improved on Theodore's acrobatic layup with a triple soon after the break. Holland and Okoye each struck from downtown in an 8-0 run that Klimenko capped with a put-back layup. Kilpatrick followed a jump hook with a three-pointer, but Klimenko and Canaan restored a double-digit UNICS lead, 48-38. Stevic and Andrew Albicy combined for all the points in a 0-7 run that brought Gran Canaria within 48-45. Holland buried a couple of three-pointers and White added a reverse layup to give UNICS fresh air, 56-50, after 30 minutes. Holland hit a jumper early in the fourth quarter. Slaughter and Canaan each struck from beyond the arc. Then John Brown found his first points for a 63-53 UNICS lead. Holland insisted from downtown and Brown dunked to break the game open, 68-53, after a 10-0 run. Okoye and Albicy brought Gran Canaria within 68-60 in the next-to-last minute, but UNICS called timeout and Smith buried a jumper that sealed the outcome.

Pivotal performer

John Holland stepped up every time UNICS needed him after the break. He scored off his 14 points in the second half, making1 of 2 two-pointers and 4 of 6 three-pointers plus 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a foul drawn for a PIR of 16.

Game-changing moment

Gran Canaria got within 58-53 on a three-pointer by A.J. Slaughter. Isaiah Canaan and John Holland each answered from beyond the arc and John Brown, who had been scoreless until then, added a put-back layup and a fast break slam. That 10-0 run boosted UNICS's lead to 68-53, more than enough to control the game in the final 5 minutes.

Stellar stat

UNICS pulled down a season-high 19 offensive rebounds, which was its best since October 2018. UNICS also forced Gran Canaria into 18 turnovers, while committing just 8. All those extra possessions made the difference in the game.

Next game

Both teams return to 7DAYS EuroCup action next week - on Wednesday, January 27. UNICS visits Mornar Bar. And Gran Canaria hosts MoraBanc Andorra.

Artem Klimenko - UNICS Kazan (photo UNICS - Kseniya Bogdanova) - EC20
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: HORDOV, TOMISLAV ; LAURINAVICIUS, JURGIS; KONSTANTINOVS, KRISTAPS
Attendance: 2451
By Quarter1234
UNICS Kazan17162317
Herbalife Gran Canaria11192012
End of Quarter1234
UNICS Kazan17335673
Herbalife Gran Canaria11305062
UNICS Kazan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
00 BROWN, JOHN 17:13 4 2/7     4 1 5 1 2       3   4
3 CANAAN, ISAIAH 22:21 9 1/2 2/6 1/1   2 2 1 1       3 3 8
6 ZHBANOV, GEORGY 5:44 2 1/2     1 1 2   1 1     1 1 3
7 WOLTERS, NATE 11:37 4 2/3 0/1 0/1   1 1   2 1     3 1 1
9 WHITE, OKARO 32:18 8 2/6 1/5 1/2 2 3 5     1     2 3 4
12 KLIMENKO, ARTEM 13:32 13 4/8   5/5 4 1 5 1 1   1     3 20
13 UZINSKII, DMITRII 0:47                              
15 SMITH, JAMAR 26:37 13 2/6 3/6   1 3 4 2 1 1   1   2 13
19 MORGAN, JORDAN 15:46   0/3     2 4 6   1 2     3 2 1
23 HOLLAND, JOHN 30:46 14 1/2 4/6   1 2 3 3         2 1 16
25 THEODORE, JORDAN 22:32 6 3/8 0/2     2 2 4 1 2     2 2 4
42 KOLESNIKOV, EVGENY 0:47   0/1     1   1                
Team           3 1 4               4
Totals 200:00 73 18/48 10/26 7/9 19 21 40 12 10 8 1 1 19 18 78
        37.5% 38.5% 77.8%
Head coach: PRIFTIS, DIMITRIS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Herbalife Gran Canaria
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 KILPATRICK, SEAN 11:37 7 2/3 1/3     1 1 1   1     1   4
2 BALCEROWSKI, ALEKSANDER 14:03 2 1/2     2 1 3     2     4 3 1
5 OKOYE, STANLEY 22:39 12 1/1 3/5 1/4   2 2 1 1       2 2 11
6 ALBICY, ANDREW 29:11 9 1/1 2/4 1/2   4 4 6   5       3 14
7 CLARK, EARL 5:54     0/1                       -1
8 SLAUGHTER, AJ 11:55 6 1/1 1/3 1/2         2 4     2 2 1
9 DIMSA, TOMAS 27:17 6 0/4 2/7   3 1 4 2   3   1 1 1 -1
14 SHURNA, JOHN 27:30 5 1/3 1/3 0/2   8 8 1 1 2 1   2 2 8
18 DIOP, KHALIFA 5:13   0/1       1 1           1   -1
23 BURJANADZE, BEKA 7:17 2 1/2   0/2   1 1 1         2 1  
33 BEIRAN, JAVIER 17:21 3 0/1 1/1   2 2 4   2       1   7
41 STEVIC, OLIVER 20:03 10 3/5   4/5 3 3 6 1   1     2 5 16
Team           1 4 5               5
Totals 200:00 62 11/24 11/27 7/17 11 28 39 13 6 18 1 1 18 19 64
        45.8% 40.7% 41.2%
Head coach: FISAC, PORFI

Head Coaches

PRIFTIS, DIMITRIS
UNICS Kazan
"A victory is always nice and it is always good to win a game. Of course, besides that, you have to see the whole picture. I will say big credit to the players for the way they defended. We are really solid, we played really tough defense. But - there's one big 'but' - we have to execute better on offense, find the way to be more effective, play more correct, always find the open guy, pass the ball more. But we don't do it and need to fix that, because, in serious, demanding games, you have to play both defense and offense. It is not just defense that can give you the chance to win. Of course, the fighting spirit and the correct mindset, and I am talking again about defense, is there, and I am happy about it. Artem Klimenko was the best player in this game, definitely. He contributed amazingly during the game, mostly in the first half when our bigs were in foul trouble. I am very happy about him. His contribution was very big today in this game, he was definitely the best player."
FISAC, PORFI
Herbalife Gran Canaria
"We started the game well. We were tough on defense, but in the second half, they pushed and their energy, along with our poor percentages in three-point shots and free throws, allowed them to win the game. This competition is a short one. When you lose two games in a row, you have problems. We have to be positive for the future and keep working for the next game."

Players

HOLLAND, JOHN
UNICS Kazan
"They are a good team, they just lost a tough game last week, so we knew they were going to come in hungry for a win. And I think we showed a lot today to get the win. Our defense really is what carried us today when our offense isn't really running as smoothly as we want. Our defense carried us and I think we did a good job and we put ourselves in a good position."