2015-16Last 32Round 4
January 26, 2016 CET: 17:30
Local time: 19:30 CEC NAGORNY
Victor Rudd - Nizhny Movgorod - EC15 (photo Nizhny Novgorod)

Nizhny Novgorod KO’s Union Olimpija Ljubljana

Nizhny Novgorod eliminated Union Olimpija Ljubljana from eighth finals contention with an 81-74 victory on Tuesday evening. Victor Rudd scored 17 of his 28 points in the first quarter as the hosts took charge early and led by as many as 16. But Olimpija rallied late with a 0-10 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters and took the lead at 63-64. However Vladimir Ivlev scored the next three baskets to keep Olimpija at bay and Nizhny held on the rest of the way. The victory boosted Nizhny’s record to 2-2 in Group M, while Olimpija remained winless. Semen Antonov added 17 points and 9 rebounds for the winners, Rasid Mahalbasic tallied 14 points and 6 assists and Ivan Strebkov scored 11. Sasa Zagorac paced the Olimpija attack with 18 points, Sava Lesic added 14 points, Vasilije Vucetic 12 and Miha Lapornik 11.

Vucetic started the scoring and Lesic with 4 early points put the visitors up 7-10. Rudd scored the next 5 points, but Vlatko Cancar put Olimpija ahead again, 12-14. However the red-hot Rudd scored another 5 points to trigger a 16-0 Nizhny run for a 28-14 advantage. Zagorac ended the Olimpija slide and Lapornik added free throws, but Rudd netted the final basket of the quarter for a 30-18 lead and 17 individual points in the first 10 minutes. Zagorac scored three times in the first four minutes of the second quarter and Lesic added a triple as Olimpija rallied to within 32-27. A basket by Mahalbasic was not enough to quell Olimpija, which came as close as 3 on Zagorac’s next basket. Mahalbasic scored twice to give Nizhny some breathing room and Rudd scored another 5 points in the final minute of the half, but a Luka Rupnik three made it 45-38 at halftime.

A pair of Antonov three-pointers restored a double-digit lead for Nizhny early in the second half, but Lapornik and Lesic sparked a 0-7 run to make it 51-47. Strebkov and Rudd connected from downtown to keep Olimpija at bay. However baskets by Dawan Robinson – his first – and Vucetic narrowed the gap to 63-58 through three quarters. The fourth quarter opened with a Vucetic put-back, a Blaz Mesicek layup and then a pair of Mesicek free throws to cap a 0-10 run to give Olimpija its first lead since the opening minutes, 63-64. However Ivlev scored three straight baskets – including two on the offensive glass – to put Nizhny back in control. Mesicek drew Olimpija within 69-68 with a pair of free throws with three minutes to play, but after Strebkov scored, Russ added a three-point play for a 6-point cushion. Zagorac made it 74-70 with two minutes remaining only to see baskets by Strebkov and – after a missed three by Lapornik – Mahalbasic all but clinch the victory as Nizhny held on the rest of the way.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Eurocupbasketball.com
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Referees: LAURINAVICIUS, JURGIS; MARTOLINI, ALESSANDRO; ROMANO, DAVID
Attendance: 860 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Nizhny Novgorod30151818
Union Olimpija Ljubljana18202016
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Nizhny Novgorod30456381
Union Olimpija Ljubljana18385874
Nizhny Novgorod
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 RUDD, VICTOR 36:44 28 7/10 4/9 2/2   7 7 2 1 3     3 7 31
4 BABURIN, EVGENY 27:47 2 1/5 0/3         3 1 1     4 1 -5
5 MARIKHIN, SERGEI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 VIKTOROV, IVAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 ZARYAZHKO, VICTOR 5:01                           1 1
10 IVLEV, VLADIMIR 16:24 8 3/3   2/2 2 3 5     2 1   3 3 12
11 ANTONOV, SEMEN 29:37 17 3/3 3/4 2/2 3 6 9 4   3     2 3 27
12 MAHALBASIC, RASID 30:41 14 6/8 0/1 2/2 1 3 4 6 4 3   1 4 1 18
13 KHVOSTOV, DMITRY 29:33 1 0/2 0/3 1/2   2 2 3   3       2 -1
19 STREBKOV, IVAN 20:48 11 4/4 1/3     2 2 1   2     1   9
47 KIRDIACHKIN, ANDREI 3:25   0/1 0/2   1   1           1   -3
Team             1 1     1          
Totals 200:00 81 24/36 8/25 9/10 7 24 31 19 6 18 1 1 18 18 89
        66.7% 32% 90%
Head coach: BAGATSKIS, AINARS
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
Union Olimpija Ljubljana
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 WRIGHT, ZACK 19:59 2 1/4     2 2 4 4   3     1 1 4
5 RUPNIK, LUKA 16:42 5 1/1 1/2         3             7
6 ROBINSON, DAWAN 21:44 2 1/2 0/1         2 2       1   3
9 MESICEK, BLAZ 22:42 6 2/4 0/1 2/2   3 3 3   2     2 5 10
10 NIKOLIC, MITJA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 VUCETIC, VASILIJE 14:31 12 6/7     1 1 2     2     2   9
13 LAPORNIK, MIHA 27:39 11 2/5 1/5 4/4   1 1 5 1 2     3 5 11
15 LESIC, SAVA 27:31 14 3/5 2/2 2/2   4 4 1 1 4   1 1 3 15
17 ZAGORAC, SASA 25:29 18 9/10 0/5     4 4 1 1 1     1   16
21 MAHKOVIC, BLAZ 19:41 2 0/1 0/2 2/2   3 3 1 3 1 1   3 4 7
31 CANCAR, VLATKO 4:02 2 1/1 0/1                   4   -3
Team             1 1               1
Totals 200:00 74 26/40 4/19 10/10 3 19 22 20 8 15 1 1 18 18 80
        65% 21.1% 100%
Head coach: POTOCNIK, GASPER

Head Coaches

BAGATSKIS, AINARS
Nizhny Novgorod
"We needed this win to continue our hunt for the Eurocup playoffs, so the fact that we had had a very tough game 48 hours ago could be no excuse. Olimpija is tough, which they proved once again. We were lucky to keep our heads cool till the final minutes to win this one. Rudd caught fire in the beginning of the game, and then Ivlev and Strebkov helped us a lot in the final stages. I want to thank my players that they kept fighting even though some of them were tired because we used a small rotation."
POTOCNIK, GASPER
Union Olimpija Ljubljana
"It was a tough game, we fought hard, but in the end Nizhny proved that they were a better team tonight. I think at some moments we played really well, but couldn’t put ourselves in the position to win it. However Nizhny players showed they had better quality in the end of the game and I congratulate them for the win."

Players

RUDD, VICTOR
Nizhny Novgorod
"I had a personal goal to score 30 tonight, Rasid Mahalbasic told me to do so. I was good in the first half, but got a little bit tired in the second. Still I’m not disappointed I came short, because we won this one. "
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