Perm secured a home victory over Moscow in the opening game of the second season of the WINLINE Basket Cup—86–62 (17–15, 23–17, 25–20, 21–10).
Main Story
The hosts took the lead right from the start and, thanks to the energy of their reshuffled foreign player roster, consistently found gaps in the defending champions’ defense, building a substantial lead as early as the first half (“+16”). Led by Casper Ware (who scored 8 consecutive points toward the end of the second half), the Army team tried to even the score, cutting the deficit to “-8” after 20 minutes.
The run down the end
After the teams switched sides, instead of the expected comeback from Andreas Pistoliis’s team, the spectators witnessed PARMA’s dominance, which really picked up steam in the fourth 10-minute period. The Perm team didn’t let up and won all four quarters. In the final stretch, the home team’s lead grew to a final margin of “+24.”
X-Factor
Evgeny Pashutin’s team’s defense and CSKA’s struggles with shooting accuracy. The Perm club made the WBC and League’s main offensive force look lackluster, winning the rebounding battle (“+10”) and recording 9 steals, which were converted into easy points on fast breaks. The Moscow team shot 6-for-37 from beyond the arc and just 10-for-20 from the free-throw line, which left the visitors with no chance of mounting a comeback.
Interesting Fact
-24 is CSKA’s biggest loss in VTB United League and WINLINE Basket Cup games in history.
PARMA reaffirmed its reputation as a giant-killer. For the Ural team, this is already their second consecutive major upset at the start of the season: just recently, they defeated UNICS Kazan on the road (97–88) in the VTB United League.
PARMA sold out all tickets for the season opener, announcing a sellout several days before the game.
Jeremiah Martin recorded 6 steals.
Press Conference
PARMA Head Coach Evgeny Pashutin:
– I want to thank the fans for their support. Our first game in Perm, a full arena—this shows that the fans respect the team, and today the team proved that it respects its fans! We responded with a victory and a great performance against CSKA. Thank you to the team for the game; we defended well today. There was a dip in the second quarter, but after halftime we started playing better defense. This year, we have the opportunity to rotate our lineup. We’re happy with this victory, but at the same time, we understand that the season has only just begun and there’s a lot of work ahead of us. Our task now is to recover as quickly as possible and continue to show this energy, dedication, and team spirit. Today we played together, moved the ball around, and nobody was selfish. We finally played with a full roster, and that allows us to play aggressively on defense for all 40 minutes.
CSKA Head Coach Andreas Pistiolis:
– First of all, I’d like to congratulate our opponent on an excellent game. There’s not much to say about this match. Our opponent dominated and played much better than we did: they fought harder, were more active, and shot more accurately. I think it was clear who the winner was from the very beginning until the end of the game. I expected our opponents to play well, but I didn’t expect my team to play so poorly.
Top Performers
PARMA: B.J. Johnson (20 points + 11 rebounds), Jeremiah Martin (17 points + 6 steals), Joshua Primo (9 points).
CSKA: Antonius Cleveland (12 points), Casper Ware (11 points), Melo Trimble (9 points).
Up Next
October 7, FMP vs. Lokomotiv-Kuban.