Lokomotiv-Kuban made it to the final for the first time in ten years

Basketball players of the Krasnodar “Lokomotiv-Kuban” were able to accomplish a feat. The series against CSKA in the semifinals of the VTB United League gained a cult and legendary status even “during his lifetime”. As a result of the crazy denouement, Loko reached the final series, which can be considered a historic achievement.

Pleasant exchange

Recall that after four stubborn matches in the series, equality was established – 2: 2. The teams exchanged victories, first in Moscow, and then in Krasnodar. From that moment on, the trips became solitary. Let’s start in order, with the fifth match. The teams returned to Moscow – and then the density of confrontation began to dissipate. It was a pleasant surprise that the game ended in favor of Loko without any worries. From the first minutes the guests seized the initiative. The army missed a lot. There was a moment when the hosts reduced the opening to seven points. But very quickly the guests overcame a slight crisis – in the end 85:68 (26:12, 22:19, 21:19, 16:18).

Krasnodar scored more than 84 points for the first time in this series. The army team showed their minimum values ​​in the attack in the semi-finals. As a result, before the gap in the score in this series was not double-digit.

As part of the winners, 22 points were scored by striker from Trinidad and Tobago Devon Akun-Purcell, thirteen by American Jaylen Barford, eleven by Andrey Martyuk.

– We played a very good match both in defense and in attack, – said Alexander Sekulich, coach of Lokomotiv-Kuban. – I am especially pleased with the first quarter: we spent it almost perfectly. They didn’t give CSKA’s main snipers opportunities for good shots, because they acted as a team, as planned.

The teams went to the capital of Kuban, where on April 28 the sixth match took place. The city was seething in anticipation of the game, the victory in which brought Loko to the final. A huge number of spectators gathered in the Basket Hall – 5705 people, according to official figures. It seemed that if the streak was not ended now, then Loko’s chances would drop sharply. Moreover, the Serbian center of CSKA, the most valuable player of the regular season, Nikola Milutinov, returned to action, even if they used him for a limited amount of time.

Alas, in Krasnodar there was a completely disastrous match for Loko. The team was unable to take a decisive step with a full house. The fight didn’t work at all. Already the first half of the meeting practically put an end to the ambitions of Krasnodar. Unexpectedly, Russians Nikita Kurbanov and young Samson Ruzhentsev took the lead at CSKA. Loko had no leaders. Only two players reached the ten-point milestone. Thirteen each scored Anton Kvitkovskikh and Devon Akun-Purcell. The army team had a huge number of such basketball players – seven.

There was no moment in the second half when the game really escalated. The crushing victory of the “red-blue” – 98 : 75 (27 : 15, 25 : 14, 23 : 22, 23 : 24).

“Unfortunately, in the first half there was only one team on the court,” said Alexander Sekulich, head coach of Lokomotiv-Kuban, after the match. – CSKA took us down like a hurricane – and we were not ready for this. On the other hand, the opponent played his best match in this series. It is a pity that our offensive shortcoming again appeared during the season, when after great victories on the road in the next game at home we demonstrate a not very high-quality game. Yes, we are playing against the best team in the history of Russian basketball, but that’s no excuse. A big thank you to the fans, they did a great job today. I regret that today our game did not match the strength of support.

The tension thickens

Against the background of the fiasco, the victory in the decisive duel turned out to be all the more valuable and effective. It took place on the first of May in the capital. Eight and a half thousand spectators came to Megasport, including Lokomotiv fans. Krasnodar residents were able to reboot and, despite the circumstances, achieve their goal.

Here, the maximum density of the struggle, typical for the beginning of the series, returned. Not just returned, but thickened incredibly!

Krasnodar began the match cheerfully. CSKA coach Emil Raikovich even spent the only video challenge in the first quarter, looking at who the ball left. At the same time, the ownership went to Loko. And in this attack, Chris Horton, a second before the shot clock expired, made a five-point lead – 23: 18. The guests were helped by the army team’s misses from free throws, which pursued the army team almost throughout the series. Only in the first period of the decisive match they missed six points. Devonte Kaykok especially “sinned” from the line, on which Krasnodar fouled with pleasure. The American personally did not realize seven free throws out of twelve. And in just a match, the hosts scored 29 points out of forty-one – a very average figure.

The second quarter, however, inspired unpleasant associations. Unstoppable was the hosts Alexei Shved. Loko’s attack was lost, the Krasnodar team acted stiffly. The army team made a significant bid, taking the lead by eight points before the big break.

In the third quarter Krasnodar recovered. Jaylen Burford revived. The Red-Greens leveled the game, even equalized the score in the middle, but the hosts regained their advantage again.

Before the final quarter, the task was not an easy one. The gap in it reached nine points. The Red-Greens have already won back such gaps. Burford boldly threw a “three” at the very beginning of possession – 81 : 81 with two minutes left!

And the soldiers fussed. Krasnodar could complete everything in regular time. They had an advantage of four points after two hits by Okaro White. However, the southerners stepped on the old rake, unable to get out of the pressure in their own half. And the army team leveled the score – 85 : 85. The last attack was at the disposal of Loko with a draw. Burford undertook to decide the fate of the series. But his throw in the aisle was inaccurate …

There is a medal!

Well, he only increased the legend of the confrontation with a miss. The overtime of the seventh match is the epitome of all the coolness of the series. There were plenty of slides in it. It started off well for Loko: White’s long-range shot and Vladislav Yemchenko’s accurate free throws allowed them to lead by five points. After that, the “red-greens” fought back in defense and could further increase the lead. However, the ball was knocked out of Barford, in the fight for him the American received the fifth foul and was forced to end the match. Literally immediately, Akun-Purcell and Yemchenko also reached a list of personal comments. And CSKA equalized the score – 92: 92. The initiative returned to the army.

Loko has found a leader. Alexander Shcherbenev made several mistakes at the beginning of the match. At the crucial moment, he decided on a difficult three-pointer and hit! Pupil of the club impeccably punched free throws. On the sly, White continued to score points.

CSKA smeared from the line. Aleksey Shved did not survive the marathon distance of the series, at the end of the fight he lost balls and missed. Krasnodar were leading by eight points with 21 seconds left – 102: 94 – and still managed to tickle the nerves of their fans. First, Dmitry Uzinsky was “bought” by Casper Ware for an old trick from the first match, earning three free throws at once. And Loko’s captain also got the fifth foul. Then White, after Loko’s time-out, made a mistake with the introduction of the ball into the game in the opponent’s half. And the referees passed it to the opponent. Fortunately, the long-range throw of the army did not reach the goal. And the guests, thanks to the efforts of Kvitkovsky, got hold of another point from the penalty area.

In the last attack of CSKA, Dallas Moore hit the “three” with a siren, but Krasnodar rushed to rejoice! They won – 103:100 (25:22, 14:25, 21:21, 25:17, 18:15).

In Krasnodar, Okaro White scored twenty-one points, seventeen – Burford, fifteen – Shcherbenev, twelve each – Andrey Martyuk and Chris Horton. CSKA has 22 points for Shved.

So, final! Amazing and incredible event! It was such a difficult season for Loko. The team even fell to an unusual sixth place, suffered a lot of defeats, but achieved tremendous success. Only the second time in the finals of the VTB United League in the history of Loko. The first happened in the 2012/13 season, that is, exactly ten years ago. Then in the final, the Red-Greens lost to CSKA.

– A heavy defeat. Congratulations Loco. Problems came to us at a key moment of the season. Due to the injuries of two leading players, Milutinov and Shved, we approached this series not in the best shape,” commented the head coach of CSKA Emil Rajkovic on the outcome of the semi-finals. – And seven matches demanded good physical readiness. Loko has surpassed us in this. Of course, this meeting added pressure. As professionals, we should have dealt with it, but we couldn’t. Look at least at the number of greased free kicks. It’s a shame that the team showed great team basketball throughout the season, and one bad stretch ruined everything.

“Obviously, we are very happy to win this match and the series,” said Alexander Sekulich, head coach of Lokomotiv-Kuban. – They kicked us in the ass in the previous meeting, and we came to prove that it was just a bad day. We played well, somewhere we were lucky, and we managed to get into the historic final.

Loko’s opponent was decided on Tuesday late in the evening. UNICS and Zenit, in turn, finished playing until the seventh match. There is also an interesting series, but not so exciting. The decisive game will be held in Kazan. In any case, Loko’s rival will have the home court advantage, as Krasnodar was lower than all the participants in the semi-final stage in the regular season. However, the “red-greens” have already learned that this is not critical. At least Loko secured medals for the first time since 2015. There is a good chance for gold. It won’t be easy in any case, but Loko will give all their strength for the coveted title.