Unics Kazan reaches VTB League finals

UNICS beat Lokomotiv-Kuban at home in Game 3 of the VTB League semi-finals – 74:70.

Lokomotiv Kuban had lost the first two games of the VTB League semi-finals and ran out of options. Therefore, they decided to go all out and try something new.

Lokomotiv started Grigory Motovilov and Andrey Martyuk for the first time in the playoffs, and the team’s experimental starting five was surprisingly efficient. By the middle of the first quarter, Motovilov’s three-pointer gave Lokomotiv a double-digit lead: 15-4.

But after a time-out, Unics Kazan returned with a vengeance and cut the deficit to only two points at the end of the first quarter.

Lokomotiv started the second quarter strong and via their excellent guards they bulit up a 44-31 lead by halftime.

The third quarter was disastrous for the visiting Lokomotiv. They let their 13 point lead slip away and turn into a five-point deficit by the end of the third quarter. It was the first lead of the game for the home-playing Unics Kazan.

In the fourth quarter, the teams exchanged blows, but Lokomotiv lacked that last spark to win this game, so Unics Kazan swept the series 3-0 and is now in the final of the VTB League.