Unics takes revenge over Ostend, also wins point differential

In a game that went to the wire on Wednesday afternoon, Unics Kazan defeated Telenet Ostend at home, 69-63, while keeping an upper hand in tiebreakers with the Belgian team. The guests had options to even win until the last minute, but a couple of missed threes erased that option, while Andrew Goudelock shined again with his 27 points to keep Unics alive in the difficult moments. With this result, Unics jumps atop Group O again with a 3-1, while Ostend drops to 2-2 still with options to advance. Vladimir Veremeenko was the only other Unics player in double digits with his 11 points. For the guests, Ryan Thompson had 17 points and Niels Marnegrave added 10.

Ryan Thompson started the game on fire for Telenet Ostend and put the guests in command during most of the first quarter, 12-15 in minute 6 for his seventh point. Ostend was oustanding from the arc in the starting minutes with 3 of 4 connected attempts, but Unics Kazan looked for inside points to stay on the trail. In fact, Andrew oudelock squeezed in four points in the last 22 seconds of the first period including a three on the buzzer to give Unics its first advantage since the 6-5. Ostend didn't back down despite the temporary setback and stroke again to take command, 24-27, thanks to Mateusz Ponitka's five almost straight points. With both teams balancedd in almost all aspects of the game, Unics was surviving thanks to more and better free throw shooting, while Ostend had theupper hand in inside shots. Gregory Echenique hit a layup for 29-34, but the hosts had time for one last final bucket as Kostas Kaimakoglou scored for 31-34 to arrive at the halftime of the game.

In the second half, Unics regrouped and managed to double Ostend's points in the first 5 minutes, 16-8, to make it 47-42 after Nikos Zisis' three-pointer. Thompson and Ponitka tried to team up again to contain the hosts, but Vladimir Veremeenko joined the play with four straight points of his own to increase it to 51-43. A late 0-6 burst in the quarter capped by Brent Wright's free throws put Ostend in the game again, 52-49, after three quarters. The final period started with a 0-4 for Ostend but nics wouldn't let that situation last for long. Two straight threes by Goudelock put the hosts on the right track again, but Wes Wilkinson hit his first three for 64-60 with four minutes left. Goudelock had time for a new bucket and his 27th point of the night, while Niels Marnegrave hit a desperate three that made it 67-63. Ostend had a last chance from the line to at least keep the point differential in its favor, but Pierre Antoine Gillet missed the three and Chuck Eidson hit twice from the stripe for the final 69-63.