2010-11FinalsGame 1
UNICS Kazan 87
Cedevita Zagreb 66
April 16, 2011 CET: 18:00
Local time: 18:00 PALAVERDE
Terrell Lyday - Unics - Finals Treviso 2011 - EC10

Unics made it to the Eurocup final!

Unics confirmed its status as a solid candidate to lift the Eurocup trophy by downing Cedevita Zagreb 87-66 in the first semifinal at Palaverde in Treviso, Italy on Saturday. Unics stormed into the Eurocup final for the first time in club history and will also make its Euroleague debut next season if it adds another win in the title game tomorrow. Cedevita, the first Croatian team to reach the semifinals, will try to please its many fans with a win in the Third Place game tomorrow. Terrell Lyday paced the winners with 27 points. Kelly McCarty aded 18, Maciej Lampe had 16 while Marko Popovic got 14 for Unics. Damjan Rudez led Cedevita with 16 points. Bracey Wright added 15, Dontaye Draper and Vedran Vukusic each had 11 while Marino Bazdaric got 10 for the Croatian side. Rudez gave Cedevita an early 5-9 lead but Lyday led a 10-0 run that allowed Unics to get a 15-9 margin. Cedevita made just 1-of-12 shots from downtown in the first quarter, as Lyday, McCarty and Ricky Minard made it a nine-point game, 22-13, after 10 minutes. Popovic and McCarty struck from downtown in an 18-1 run that boosted Unics' lead to 33-14. Popovic singlehandedly allowed his team to keep a 47-30 halftime margin. Marino Bazdaric shined after the break and got some help from, Vukusic to get Cedevita within 67-55 after 30 minutes. Cedevita managed to get within single digits, 70-61, but Lampe and McCarty stepped up in crunch time to lead Unics to a well-deserved win. Dontaye Draper got Cedevita going with a driving layup, as Unics struggled to score in the opening 2 minutes until Lyday stepped up with a six-meter jumper. Cedevita tried a very dynamic starting lineup with Rudez at power forward. He scored in penetration but McCarty answered from downtown for a 5-4 Unics lead. Rudez sank a three-pointer but Draper picked up his second foul in just 3 minutes. Coach Evgeny Pashutin brought Minard off the bench to improve his team's offense. Wright hit a step-back jumper that Lampe improved with 4-of-4 free throws for a 9-9 tie. Cedevita had started to miss open shots and entered the foul bonus, so Unics tried to attack the basket to go to the free throw line. Lyday and McCarty hit foul shots to put their team back ahead, 13-9. Lyday buried another long shot to make Cedevita call timeout at 15-9, after a 10-0 run. Corsley Edwards shined with a tip-in and Wright added an off-balance driving layup for Lyday answered from downtown for a 18-13 score. Minard followed a dunk off a midcourt steal with a driving basket for a 22-13 Unics lead after 10 minutes.

Cedevita changed its game plan and tried to get its big men involved early in the second quarter. Edwards split free throws but a triple by Lyday gave Unics its first double-digit lead, 25-14. Unics controlled the defensive board and kept finding easy points in transition. Marko Popovic joined the three-point shootout and Lyday sank a step-back jumper that broke the game open, 30-14. Unics entered the foul bonus, however, and could not play defense with the same intensity so it switched to a 3-2 defense. McCarty struck from downtown to put a mamooth 18-1 run. Wright tried to change things with a three-point play but Lyday scored in transition to keep Unics out of trouble, 35-17. Vukusic, back in the game with 3 fouls, took over with a put-back layup but Lampe and Popovic soon made it a 20-point game, 39-19. Rudez followed free throws with a three-pointer and a tip-in by Vukusic gave Cedevita some hope, 39-26. Popovic knocked down back-to-back triples and McCarty matched Wright's free throws with an outstanding two-handed put-back dunk for a 47-28 Unics score. A buzzer-beating floater by Rudez fixed the halftime score at 47-30.

Vladimir Veremeenko and Lampe, each with 3 fouls, stepped on court after the break and Cedevita tried to take advantage of that. Draper hit a six-meter jumper that Veremeenko matched with a smooth move in the low post. Vukusic buried a mid-range shot but an uncontested dunk by McCarty and another three-pointer by Lyday gave Unics a 54-34 margin. McCarty provided a highlight with a huge block, sending the ball - literally - to the third row. Veremeenko sank free throws and McCarty added a floating layup but Bazdaric bettered that with back-to-back three-pointers. Lampe hit free throws but Draper stepped up with a jumper, igniting an 0-8 run that Bazdaric capped with a corner triple to force Unics to call timeout at 60-48. Minard downed a three-pointer and Lyday added a dunk to restore a 65-48 Unics margin. Wright and made free throws and Vukusic followed that with a three-pointer to bring Cedevita back to life, 67-55, at the end of the third quarter.

Cedevita needed to keep its comeback going to return to the game and improved its defense early in the fourth quarter. Wright, that had missed twice from downtown in consecutive offenses, shined with an backdoor layup and a jumper by Rudez brought his team within single digits, 68-59. McCarty and Draper traded baskets, forcing Unics to call timeout at 68-59. Despite using longer possessions, Unics could not find the way to the basket. Wright missed free throws and Rudez stepped out of bounds, however, and a three-point play by Lampe gave Unics some fresh air at 73-61. Badzaric split free throws but Lyday allowed Unics to seal the outcome, 75-62, with 4 minutes left. Cedevita kept trying, however, but Unics kept full control of the game. McCarty made foul shots and by the time Lampe sank a jumper, everything was said and done already. Unics will keep fighting for Eurocup glory tomorrow while Cedevita will try to finish its fantastic debut season with a prestigious win in the Third Place game.

Vladimir Veremeenko - Unics celebrates - Finals Treviso 2011- EC10
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Javier Gancedo, Eurocupbasketball.com, Treviso, Italy
No results found.
Referees: MARTIN, JOSE; CEREBUCH, GUERRINO; ANASTOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS
Attendance: 5000 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
UNICS Kazan22252020
Cedevita Zagreb13172511
End of Quarter1234
UNICS Kazan22476787
Cedevita Zagreb13305566
UNICS Kazan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 LYDAY, TERRELL 34:54 27 6/8 3/7 6/8   5 5 3 4 1     1 7 36
6 POPOVIC, MARKO 26:29 14 1/4 4/7     1 1 4 1 2   2 4 2 8
7 ZAMANSKIY, IGOR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 SAMOYLENKO, PETR 7:13     0/1         1         1   -1
11 PASHUTIN, ZAKHAR 7:41     0/1     2 2               1
12 VEREMEENKO, VLADIMIR 36:38 5 1/3   3/4 1 5 6 1 5 4 1   4 3 10
13 AMIRKHANOV, AMIRAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 RIZVIC, HASAN 7:24           1 1     1     1   -1
21 McCARTY, KELLY 34:31 18 4/5 2/5 4/4 2 5 7     1 2   1 2 23
22 MINARD, RICKY 11:24 7 2/3 1/2     2 2   1 3     3   2
30 LAMPE, MACIEJ 33:46 16 2/10 1/1 9/9 1 7 8 1 3 2   1 4 5 18
33 VRANES, SLAVKO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team             2 2               2
Totals 200:00 87 16/33 11/24 22/25 4 30 34 10 14 14 3 3 19 19 98
        48.5% 45.8% 88%
Head coach: PASHUTIN, EVGENY
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
Cedevita Zagreb
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 DRAPER, DONTAYE 34:27 11 5/10 0/3 1/2 1 6 7 5 3 2   1 2 7 19
6 KRSTIC, VLADIMIR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 TROHA, ROBERT 9:47   0/2       1 1           1   -2
8 WRIGHT, BRACEY 36:31 15 5/8 0/5 5/7 1 2 3 1 3 3     4 4 9
9 RUDEZ, DAMJAN 32:54 16 3/7 2/9 4/4 2 1 3   1 2 1   1 2 9
10 PETROVIC, TOMISLAV 7:06     0/1   1   1     2       1 -1
11 VUKUSIC, VEDRAN 27:46 11 4/4 1/3   2 2 4     3     5   5
14 KASTROPIL, FRANKO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 PRINC, VEDRAN 5:58           1 1 1         1   1
34 EDWARDS, CORSLEY 11:49 3 1/3   1/2 3 2 5       1 1 1 2 6
45 BAZDARIC, MARINO 31:48 10 0/3 3/6 1/2   7 7   2 4 1 1 4 3 7
55 KOVACEVIC, HRVOJE 1:54   0/1               2         -3
Team           1 3 4               4
Totals 200:00 66 18/38 6/27 12/17 11 25 36 7 9 18 3 3 19 19 54
        47.4% 22.2% 70.6%
Head coach: PETROVIC, ALEKSANDAR

Head Coaches

PASHUTIN, EVGENY
UNICS Kazan
"I want to congratulate my players and our club for this big win. We played a great game today, my players worked hard in defense and were aggressive every second on the court. We managed to stop Dontaye Draper and Bracey Wright, who could not play their pick-and-roll game. We were able to do it and I really appreciate that from my guys. We played with a lot of energy in the first half and struggled a bit in the third quarter, but found a way to fix the problem. We dominated in the fourth quarter and won the game. It is time to think about the final but this is a great result for us. We will analyze today's game and see what we didn't do well or what did not go as planned. It will depend on who we play, as Cajasol and Benetton play with different styles. We will wait to prepare the game when we know our opponent. If you don't win the semifinal, you don't play the final, and that is why my best players were out there for 30 minutes. If we had tried a bigger rotation, we would probably lose. We didn't play well in the third quarter and Cedevita got within 9. We have seen this team trail by 17 against Estudiantes and win the game by 9 points. Cedevita has a lot of shooters and is a very dangerous team, difficult to stop when they hit their shots."
PETROVIC, ALEKSANDAR
Cedevita Zagreb
"We missed a lot of open shots from the perimeter and had a lot of problems. We have made all kind of shots in the last 45 days, but it was very difficult for us to score in the opening 20 minutes. We made just 2 of 17 three-pointers in the first half and Unics got a huge difference. They went out there with a different mentality and defended the pick-and-roll very well. We were aggressive but had no energy. We did not have the opportunity to take the lead and make it interesting in the end. Unics is a better team but there was not that much difference on the court even when they deserved to win. They played with a great mentality from the beginning. It was the first game at this level for Cedevita and Unics has had many games like this. They made the difference in the beginning of the game and we tried to rally but every time we got closer, we made one or two mistakes or they made quality shots, making the distance bigger. I want to congratulate Unics, they deserved the win, but also my players, as nobody expected us to come here. I hope that we see Cedevita playing games like this in the future and get to this level of competition."

Players

POPOVIC, MARKO
UNICS Kazan
"It's great to reach the final, but we don't want to stop there. We played against a great team, Cedevita, but today we stopped their shooters from the three-point line and definitely that was the key. They only scored 66 points: usually they score over 80. We tried to exhaust Draper. He was playing a lot with the ball from the beginning and that's exactly what we planned to do, make him lose a lot of energy. He got two fouls early in the game. Cedevita is not only Draper. They have also Bazdaric, Vukusic, Rudez, all those great guys, and we stopped the whole team."
MINARD, RICKY
UNICS Kazan
"We controlled the game well. We played well defensively. When you play well defensively, it takes a lot of the pressure off, and I think tonight we did a great job in that regard. We did what we had to when they came back in the second half, which was just continue to get stops, and we were fine. We had to just rotate to their shooters, because they're a great shooting team. Their inside presence is not as strong as some other teams we played, so we knew we had to get to the shooters and get their shots contested, make it difficult for them. We picked each other up. It's somebody's night every night on this team. So we just take turns. Whoever we play in the final, it's going to be a battle tomorrow. There are four great teams here, so we have to come ready to play the final."
VEREMEENKO, VLADIMIR
UNICS Kazan
"I think we controlled the game most of the time. In a few moments, we relaxed a little and Cedevita came back some, but we kept control. We have good shooters on our team, too, and today we hit some good baskets. We played good defense today. We prepared for three days for good defense, and today we did everything the coach told us. I think today was our game. We're a little bit tired, but I think we are ready to try to win tomorrow in the final. We want to win something in Europe. Three years ago we only made it to the semifinals, and now we have a big chance to win the Eurocup. In the final, it doesn't matter to us who we play. We haven't seen either Benetton or Cajasol much. I think they have a similar style, so tomorrow it doesn't matter who we play."
McCARTY, KELLY
UNICS Kazan
"I am grateful to be here because not many people can play for championships. Coach stressed that details would be paramount in this game and it was that way. Everyone in the team was so energetic tonight, even maybe too much! It's a great opportunity to be here. Cedevita has a agood team and I wanted to keep my players focused on the game plan. That discipline allowed us to stay in the game. Coach wants us to share the ball, if you don't offense gets stagnant and you suffer. For us, to keep moving the ball is the key."

"It felt real good. We were real excited to get going, and our coach really prepared us well. Cedevita is a very well coached team, but we executed our game plan and we got results. When you have a big lead you tend to relax, and them being the team that they are, they're going to hit shots, you know. We just wanted to stay focused and not get nervous after a few shots of theirs, build the lead back up and execute our game plan. I think we did that. Lyday, Popovic, Lampe, the list goes on and on. Everyone did a great job. I felt great. I've had a long career, but god has really preserved my body and I'm taking care of it. And coach giving me days off this season, so that helps an old fellow like me."
LAMPE, MACIEJ
UNICS Kazan
"Our guards stepped up tremendoulsy tonight. Terrell Lyday had great shots and led us through the right path. We had a great game tonight and we have to prepare now for tomorrow's final. Up to now we had only focused on the semis game, so now we will have to catch up and try to get ready for the final."
VUKUSIC, VEDRAN
Cedevita Zagreb
"We started the game pretty nervous, and they came out really aggressive. That made the difference in the first half. They got their rhythm, made their shots, we were insecure. Once they got their big lead, they never let go. In the second half, we started playing the way they were, and were very very aggressive on defense. They lost a couple of balls, we came back, but did not have the strength to overcome the 20-point deficit. I am very sad because there were a lot of people here who supported us. I want to thank them because their support meant a lot for us all season. I wish we could have won this game, but we will try to win the third-place game tomorrow."
BAZDARIC, MARINO
Cedevita Zagreb
"Of course, the difference in the game was made in the first half. They scored too many easy shots and made a lot of three pointers in the first half. We didn't defend well their pick-and-roll game. We improved our defense in the second half and had good rotations. We improved our shooting percentage and managed to get back in the game twice. But we didn't have enough power to complete our comeback."
WRIGHT, BRACEY
Cedevita Zagreb
"Our first half cost us the game. They were the better team today. They played extremely well together, and played inside and outside well. We relied on our outside game, but it didn't work the way it usually does for us. We got behind and tried to make a run, but they were too much for us. We are glad our fans came to support us. They do that all the time. We have another game tomorrow. Hopefully we can correct some of the mistakes we made today and have a better game tomorrow."
RUDEZ, DAMJAN
Cedevita Zagreb
"Congratulations to Unics. They had a big difference early in the game and we had a lot of difficulties trying to catch up. Congratulationms to them, they played well. I want to especially thank our fans for having travelled all the way from Croatia to support us. The first half was a problem for us. When a quality team like Unics gets a 19-point difference early, it's hard to try to come back."