Nizhny Novgorod defeated Unics 86:82 in the VTB Super Cup quarterfinals, causing a major upset.
The first quarter saw an evenly matched battle with plenty of missed shots but very high-quality basketball. It was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team managing to build a significant lead, which was a theme throughout the game. In the end, Unics narrowly won the first quarter 20-18.
The second quarter continued in the same rhythm, but Nizhny was the first to establish a slightly larger lead in the middle of the second half. At the end of this highly competitive first half, the score was 42-41 in favor of the team from the Nizhny Novgorod region.
After a fifteen-minute break, the game saw equal competition and intense battles once again. Zoran Lukic’s team managed to withstand a slight surge from Unics, despite the fact that the Kazan team even took the lead at one point during this part of the game.
The final quarter was no less thrilling than the previous three. Lukić’s team managed to maintain their lead, and in the end, Dmitrii Khvostov’s three-pointer with a minute to go sealed the victory and shocked last year’s VTB League champions.
The standout performers for the blue and white team were the aforementioned Khvostov with 18 points, closely followed by Andrey Vorontsevich with 13 points. Marcos Knight led the defeated team with 19 points.