National League Round 5 (Regular Season): Barsy Atyrau lose their first game against Astana Ac.

After 5 rounds played we can already see who rules in the National League and who belongs to weaker ones. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was the first loss of Barsy Atyrau (4-1) on the court of third ranked Astana Ac. on Thursday night. Visitors were defeated by Astana Ac. 68-62. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Barsy Atyrau. They outrebounded Barsy Atyrau 43-30 including 30 on the defensive glass. Russian center Igor Kanygin (207-1994, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 10 points and 16 rebounds for the winners and guard Valeriy Simonov (194-2002) chipped in 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. American point guard Jarvis Garrett (182-1995, college: URI) responded with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Astana Ac. have a solid series of three victories in a row. Despite that victory Astana Ac. went down to fourth position due to points difference. Barsy Atyrau at the other side keeps the third place with one game lost. Astana Ac. will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Barsy Atyrau will play on the road against Irtysh in Pavlodar and is hoping to win this game.
Important game to mention about took place in Pavlodar. Third ranked Barsy Atyrau (4-1) saved a 3-point victory on the road edging bottom-ranked Irtysh (0-7) 86-83 on Sunday evening. Guest team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. American guard Vante Hendrix (196-1998, college: CSUN, agency: Interperformances) nailed 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals for the winning side and Ramazan Samsin accounted for 19 points and 9 rebounds. American point guard Keshon Tabb (180-1999, college: Rust) came up with 33 points (!!!), 6 assists and 8 steals for Irtysh in the defeat. Barsy Atyrau maintains third place with 4-1 record having just one point less than leader Aktobe. Newly promoted Irtysh still closes the standings with seven games lost. Barsy Atyrau will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Irtysh will play again at home against Barsy Atyrau (#3) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
The game between Top Four teams took place in Astana. Their close opponent host Astana Ac. (3-3) lost to third ranked Barsy Atyrau (4-1) 72-60. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Astana Ac.. The best player for the winners was Jarvis Garrett who had a double-double by scoring 16 points and 10 assists. Igor Kanygin produced a double-double by scoring 24 points and 10 rebounds for the hosts. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Barsy Atyrau maintains third place with 4-1 record having just one point less than leader Aktobe. Newly promoted Astana Ac. dropped to the fourth position with three games lost. Barsy Atyrau will meet bottom-ranked Irtysh (#8) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Astana Ac. will have a break next round.

In the last game of round 5 winless Irtysh lost to Almaty L. on the opponent's court 71-82.



Almaty L. - Irtysh 82-71

Rather expected game when bottom-ranked Irtysh (0-7) was defeated on the road by sixth ranked Almaty L. (2-2) 82-71 on Tuesday. Almaty L. forced 21 Irtysh turnovers. The best player for the winners was Russian Aleksey Chilikin (207-1993) who had a double-double by scoring 26 points and 13 rebounds. Russian forward Hasan Kipkeev (200-2000) chipped in 19 points and 6 assists (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line). American point guard Keshon Tabb (180-1999, college: Rust) produced 25 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals and forward Nazim Adylbekov (200-2001) added 15 points and 19 rebounds respectively for the guests. Almaty L. moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Tobol. Irtysh at the other side, also newcomer in the league, still closes the standings with seven games lost. Almaty L. will meet Caspiy Aktau (#7) on the road in the next round. Irtysh will play against Barsy Atyrau and looks forward to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Irtysh: K.Tabb 25+5reb+9ast, A.Nazim 15+19reb, I.Ruslan 15+3reb+2ast, Z.Shakhnazar 7+1reb, I.Ali 6+3reb+1ast, B.Vadim 2+4reb+1ast
Almaty L.: A.Chilikin 26+13reb+3ast, K.Hasan 19+4reb+6ast, S.Daniil 13+3reb+2ast, N.Timofeev 9+6reb+5ast, F.Nikita 8+7reb+3ast, S.Stanislav 3+3reb

Astana Ac. - Barsy Atyrau 68-62

The most crucial game of the last round was the first loss of Barsy Atyrau (4-1) on the court of third ranked Astana Ac. on Thursday night. Visitors were defeated by Astana Ac. 68-62. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Barsy Atyrau. They outrebounded Barsy Atyrau 43-30 including 30 on the defensive glass. Russian center Igor Kanygin (207-1994, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 10 points and 16 rebounds for the winners and guard Valeriy Simonov (194-2002) chipped in 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. American point guard Jarvis Garrett (182-1995, college: URI) responded with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and the other American import forward Jamaure Gregg (201-1999, college: NSU) scored 11 points and 9 rebounds. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Astana Ac. have a solid series of three victories in a row. Despite that victory Astana Ac. went down to fourth position due to points difference. Barsy Atyrau at the other side keeps the third place with one game lost. Astana Ac. will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Barsy Atyrau will play on the road against Irtysh in Pavlodar and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Barsy Atyrau: T.Timur 15+2reb, J.Garrett 12+7reb+5ast, R.Bogdan 11+3reb+3ast, J.Gregg 11+9reb+3ast, V.Ivanov 6+9reb, S.Ramazan 5
Astana Ac.: V.Simonov 16+5reb+4ast, V.Likhodey 11+9reb+2ast, S.Amirali 10+3reb+2ast, I.Kanygin 10+16reb+3ast, M.Sarsengaliev 7+2reb+5ast, A.Orazbekov 5+3reb+2ast

Astana Ac. - Barsy Atyrau 60-72

The game between Top Four teams took place in Astana. Their close opponent host Astana Ac. (3-3) lost to third ranked Barsy Atyrau (4-1) 72-60. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Astana Ac.. The best player for the winners was American point guard Jarvis Garrett (182-1995, college: URI) who had a double-double by scoring 16 points and 10 assists. His fellow American import forward Jamaure Gregg (201-1999, college: NSU) chipped in 16 points and 9 rebounds. Russian center Igor Kanygin (207-1994, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) produced a double-double by scoring 24 points and 10 rebounds and Russian Valeriy Likhodey (205-1986) added 19 points and 9 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Barsy Atyrau maintains third place with 4-1 record having just one point less than leader Aktobe. Newly promoted Astana Ac. dropped to the fourth position with three games lost. Barsy Atyrau will meet bottom-ranked Irtysh (#8) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Astana Ac. will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Astana Ac.: I.Kanygin 24+10reb+3ast, V.Likhodey 19+9reb+2ast, A.Orazbekov 6+2reb+4ast, S.Amirali 6+5reb+2ast, I.Vladislav 3+3reb, M.Sarsengaliev 1+1ast
Barsy Atyrau: J.Gregg 16+9reb, J.Garrett 16+4reb+10ast, V.Hendrix 8+3reb+1ast, S.Ramazan 6+5reb+1ast, O.Akylbek 5, R.Bogdan 5+2reb+6ast

Irtysh - Barsy Atyrau 83-86

Important game to mention about took place in Pavlodar. Third ranked Barsy Atyrau (4-1) saved a 3-point victory on the road edging bottom-ranked Irtysh (0-7) 86-83 on Sunday evening. Guest team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. Barsy Atyrau dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to Irtysh's 32 and made 19-of-24 charity shots (79.2 percent) during the game. They outrebounded Irtysh 40-29 including 25 on the defensive glass. American guard Vante Hendrix (196-1998, college: CSUN, agency: Interperformances) nailed 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals for the winning side and the former international forward Ramazan Samsin (200-2002) accounted for 19 points and 9 rebounds. American point guard Keshon Tabb (180-1999, college: Rust) came up with 33 points (!!!), 6 assists and 8 steals and forward Nazim Adylbekov (200-2001) added 20 points and 9 rebounds respectively for Irtysh in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Barsy Atyrau maintains third place with 4-1 record having just one point less than leader Aktobe. Newly promoted Irtysh still closes the standings with seven games lost. Barsy Atyrau will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Irtysh will play again at home against Barsy Atyrau (#3) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Irtysh: K.Tabb 33+4reb+6ast, A.Nazim 20+9reb, S.Meyrambek 10+1reb, Z.Shakhnazar 10+5reb+2ast, N.Gushchin 4, I.Ruslan 3+3reb+1ast
Barsy Atyrau: V.Hendrix 23+7reb+6ast, S.Ramazan 19+9reb+1ast, K.Mahamtet 10+1reb+1ast, V.Ivanov 10+13reb+1ast, R.Bogdan 8+7reb+6ast, M.Uapov 7+2ast