Home EuroCup Red Star defeat fancied Kazan in 1st leg, Eurocup round up

Red Star defeat fancied Kazan in 1st leg, Eurocup round up

Red Star took one step towards the Eurocup final with a 63-52 win over Unics Kazan in-front of another bumper crowd at the Kombank Arena in Belgrade.

Nearly 23,000 saw their heroes hold the Eurocup favourites to a record low 4 points in the fourth period, beating the previous mark of 5 points set by Asseco Prokom in a Euroleague game against Unics back in 2011.

That turned out to be the difference between the two teams overall as both teams played out an even affair for the first three quarters of play.

Then an 11-0 run from Red Star settled the tie, as Kazan were held scoreless for the first eight minutes. Despite the fourth quarter show, Red Star coach Dejan Radonjic explained that his team’s start wasn’t what he wanted.

“We started not so good defensively and the opponent used the space we gave him,” he said. “As time went by, we managed to establish control over the match. In the end, we played brilliant defence which led to our victory. We used the energy that our fans gave us in a right way. I am satisfied with a triumph over the opponent who was the first favourite to win the Eurocup.”

Even though they are 11-points down heading back to Russia, Unics still see this game as winnable; they are 10-0 at home in the Eurocup this season. This was their second loss in the competition.

“[Red Star] played very strong defensively and we did not play smart enough. We could play better, but I must say that [Red Star] played great,” Unics Kazan coach Andrea Trinchieri said.

Slovenian international Jaka Blazic led the winners with 15 points, with Rasko Katic adding 14. Andrew Goudelock got a game-high 18 for Unics.

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