2006-07SemifinalsGame 1
Unics Kazan 76
Real Madrid 69
March 13, 2007 CET: 17:00
Local time: 19:00 BASKET HALL KAZAN

Unics topped visiting Real Madrid 76-69

Unics took a step closer to reaching the ULEB Cup title game for the first time in club history by edging Real Madrid 76-69 in Kazan, Russia, in the first leg of the home-and-away semifinal series on Tuesday night. Unics takes a 7-point lead into the return leg, which takes place in the Spanish capital next Tuesday. Darjus Lavrinovic led the winners with 17 points and 3 blocked shots, while twin brother Ksystof Lavrinovic had 14 points and 9 rebounds as Unics dominated the paint. Jerry McCullough added 15 and 7 rebounds for the hosts. Charles Smith led Madrid with 26 points on 6-of-6 two-point shooting, while Felipe Reyes added 22 and 8 rebounds. Unics used outstanding defense and good shot selection to break the game after halftime. Three-pointers by Chikalkin and Ksystof Lavrinovic, as well as an active Jarod Stevenson, allowed Unics to build a 72-52 margin with 4 minutes to go. Smith, Reyes and Kerem Tunceri fueled the Madrid comeback, erasing most of its deficit and setting up a big showdown for the second leg in Madrid, in what promises to be one of the most exciting games in European basketball this season.

McCullough opened the scoring with a basket in the low post, which Blagota Sekulic erased with a tip-in. Darjus Lavrinovic took over with a turnaround jumper, but Smith answered from downtown to give Madrid its first lead, 4-5. Jarod Stevenson stepped up with a layup-plus-foul and after Reyes scored at the other end, Saulius Stombergas hit a fade-away jumper for a 9-7 Unics lead. Reyes continued to pace Madrid with a jump hook and Smith added a driving basket, but free throws by Yahor Meshcharakou tied the game at 11-11. McCullough fired in one downtown and Ksystof Lavrinovic scored in the paint, but Sekulic and Smith kept Madrid in the game at 16-15. A red-hot McCullough hit another triple and Darjus Lavrinovic added a put-back basket, but Smith buried another three-pointer and Kerem Tunceri followed with a driving layup to get Madrid within 21-20. Free throws by Stombergas fixed the score at 23-20 after 10 minutes.

Smith continued to lead the Madrid charge with a driving layup, but the hosts improved their defense early in the second quarter, refusing to allow any close shots. Ksystof Lavrinovic rescued Unics with a three-pointer and this brother Darjus added a close basket during an 8-0 run that Sergei Chikalkin capped with one from downtown, causing Madrid to call timeout at 31-22. The visitors opted to attack the basket and got to the line often. Reyes hit free throws, but the Lavrinovic brothers controlled the boards. Madrid was limited to 4 points in 6 minutes until Smith hit an off-balance jumper. Dusko Savanovic scored inside off a steal to make it a 9-point game. Madrid committed 4 consecutive turnovers, but Reyes and Bullock hit free throws after a Unics timeout to get the guests within 36-29 at halftime.

Once again McCullough got Unics going with a layup only to see Reyes match at the other end. However the Real big man soon picked up his third foul. Stevenson provided a highlight with a big dunk as Madrid kept struggling to score. A turnover allowed Darjus Lavrinovic to give Unics a 12-point lead. Axel Hervelle hit one from downtown before Darjus Lavrinovic and Reyes traded free throws. Ksystof Lavrinovic stepped up with a put-back basket and Stombergas scored in transition to keep Unics ahead, 48-37. McCullogh buried his third triple as Madrid opted to switch to zone defense. Reyes followed a layup with a second-chance basket, but Ksystof Lavrinovic beat the shot-clock buzzer with a jumper and Meshcharakou added a turnaround shot for a 55-41 Unics lead. Smith and Chikalkin traded three-pointers and Reyes hit free throws. Chikalkin buried a running triple before a free throw by Raul Lopez got Madrid within 61-47 after 30 minutes.

Madrid kept going to Reyes early in the fourth quarter, as he hit free throws on Darjus Lavrinovic's fourth foul. Unics went scoreless for 2 minutes, but its defense allowed the hosts to stay ahead. Darjus Lavrinovic followed a jumper with free throws and Stevenson capped a 6-0 Unics run with a layup to give Unics its biggest lead yet, 67-49. Sekulic hit one from downtown to get Madrid, but Ksystof Lavrinovic buried one too after a Madrid timeout and Stevenson added a fast break layup to make it a 20-point game with 4 minutes to go. With its season on the line, Real needed to regroup and Kerem Tunceri stepped up, joining the three-point shootout and igniting a 0-8 run, which Smith capped with a driving basket, forcing Unics to call timeout at 72-60. Darjus Lavrinovic nailed a triple, but Smith answered with a layup-plus-foul.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
ULEBCup.com
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Referees: VOREADIS, LAZAROS; JOVCIC, MILIVOJE; LOVSIN, ANDREJ
Attendance: 6000
By Quarter1234
Unics Kazan23132515
Real Madrid2091822
End of Quarter1234
Unics Kazan23366176
Real Madrid20294769
Unics Kazan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 STEVENSON, JAROD 26:45 9 4/4 0/5 1/1 1 2 3 1 1     1 3 1 6
5 McCULLOUGH, JERRY 34:00 15 2/9 3/3 2/4 3 4 7 3 2 2     2 3 17
7 LAVRINOVIC, DARJUS 26:30 17 5/7 1/2 4/9 3 3 6   2 2 3   5 5 18
8 STOMBERGAS, SAULIUS 36:15 6 2/5 0/2 2/2 1 5 6   1 2     2 3 7
9 SAMOYLENKO, PETR 16:45           2 2 3   1     1 1 4
10 PANIN, VADIM DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 LAVRINOVIC, KSISTOF 22:00 14 3/5 2/5 2/4 1 8 9   1 2 2   4 4 17
15 CHIKALKIN, SERGEI 14:15 9 0/1 3/5   1 1 2     2       2 8
21 NESTEROV, KONSTANTIN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
25 ZHUKANENKO, ALEXEY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
30 SAVANOVIC, DUSKO 10:15 2 1/3 0/1     1 1   1 1     3   -3
55 MESHCHARAKOU, YAHOR 13:15 4 1/2   2/2 1 1 2 1     1   2 1 6
Team                   2           2
Totals 200:00 76 18/36 9/23 13/22 11 27 38 8 10 12 6 1 22 20 82
        50% 39.1% 59.1%
Head coach: SIREIKA, ANTANAS
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
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 NGUEMA, RICHARD DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 SMITH, CHARLES 33:15 26 6/6 3/9 5/5 1 5 6 1 2   2 1 1 5 34
8 SEKULIC, BLAGOTA 27:00 7 2/3 1/1   2 1 3 1   3   1     6
9 REYES, FELIPE 32:45 22 6/11   10/12 3 5 8     2     4 11 28
12 MILIC, MARKO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 MUMBRU, ALEX 6:45     0/2                 1 1   -4
16 HERNANDEZ-SONSECA, EDU 4:00           2 2     1     2   -1
17 HERVELLE, AXEL 14:45 5 1/3 1/3   2   2   2 1     3 1 2
19 TUNCERI, KEREM 28:45 5 1/2 1/2     3 3           1   5
22 BULLOCK, LOUIS 23:15 1 0/7 0/3 1/2 1   1     5     2 2 -14
24 LOPEZ, RAUL 19:15 3 0/1 0/2 3/4 1 1 2 1 2 1     4 2 1
33 TOMAS, MARKO 10:15           3 3 1       1     3
Team           1 2 3   2           5
Totals 200:00 69 16/33 6/22 19/23 11 22 33 4 8 13 2 4 18 21 65
        48.5% 27.3% 82.6%
Head coach: PLAZA, JOAN
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

PLAZA, JOAN
Real Madrid
"We showed that we are an ambitious team, as we did all year long, and that we came here to win even when we lost. We go back with a negative results but the team showed its character. We now have to go to Palacio Vistalegre, beat them and advance to the final. I don't like to look at stats and records, but focus on what happens every day. The team is having a great season and deserves to be in the final. I want to focus on Louis Bullock. I want him in my team for a lifetime. He took us out of very difficult situations and I don't care about his -14 index rating tonight. Bullock is working really hard and I want people to understand that. Vistalegre has to become a little Maracana Stadium. Not only we want people to come, but to get there with the will to support us. They must know a trip to finals will be decided in there and that we will go through tough moments during the team. It is important that they charge our batteries."

Players

STEVENSON, JAROD
Unics Kazan
"We feel good about winning. We were up by 15 or more with 3 minutes left, so we're also a little disappointed that we let up a bit at the end, but we're happy we won. We played real well until those last 3 minutes. In particular, we played good defense until then, and that's our soft point. The good defense made up for us not shooting as well as we normally do at home. We're going to be confident going to Madrid next week, especially if we can keep playing defense like we did most of tonight, because we should shoot better, too. We'll definitely use our experience from the last round to go there with winning on our minds and not have to worry about point differences."
SMITH, CHARLES
Real Madrid
"This loss tastes like w in. It was not easy, but we handled the pressure. We were down by 20 and the team gave everything it had. We improved our defense, we finally played our game, we controlled the boards and played at high tempo. Unics and us are two very different teams. We must play with confidence and speed up the game tempo to beat them in Madrid. It has been one of my best games this season. I scored many points down the stretch, but I also helped in defense."
REYES, FELIPE
Real Madrid
"I think we can be happy about the result because seeing how the game looked, we managed to cut the final deficit to seven points in the end. We will try to win the series at home. We had faith and we tried to rally in the final four minutes. We have to take advantage of the fact that we only lost by seven. The 2nd leg in Vistalegre is the most important game so far this season. We need our fans and I am sure they will be there for us."
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