National League Round 23 of Regular Season

The games at this stage are more interesting as they can be crucial for the final standings in Regular Season. Despite we already know who is stronger and who is weaker, there may be still last minute surprises and upsets. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game in Pavlodar was quite interesting. Second ranked Barsy Atyrau (16-7) played at the court of 8th ranked Irtysh (1-22). Barsy Atyrau defeated Irtysh 77-67 on Saturday. The former international forward Ramazan Samsin (200-2002) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 17 rebounds. Bogdan Rabchenyuk (188-2003) contributed with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists for the winners. Forward Nazim Adylbekov (200-2001) answered with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 13 rebounds for Irtysh. Barsy Atyrau have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain second place with 16-7 record having four points less than leader Irbis. Irtysh lost eleventh consecutive game. Newly promoted team stay dead last with 22 lost games. Barsy Atyrau will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Irtysh will play on the road against Aktobe (#4) and is hoping to prove to their supporters that they can break losing series.

There were no big surprises in other games of round 23: Almaty L. was beaten by Aktobe on the road 100-91. Aktobe lost to Almaty L. on its own court 85-90. Bottom-ranked Irtysh unfortunately lost to Caspiy Aktau in a road game 69-78.
The most impressive performance of 23th round was 29 points and 11 rebounds by Aleksandr Kalashnikov of Caspiy Aktau.



Irtysh - Barsy Atyrau 67-77

The game in Pavlodar was quite interesting. Second ranked Barsy Atyrau (16-7) played at the court of 8th ranked Irtysh (1-22). Barsy Atyrau defeated Irtysh 77-67 on Saturday. The former international forward Ramazan Samsin (200-2002) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 17 rebounds. Bogdan Rabchenyuk (188-2003) contributed with a double-double by scoring 13 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists for the winners. Four Barsy Atyrau players scored in double figures. Forward Nazim Adylbekov (200-2001) answered with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 13 rebounds and guard Ali Isagulov (186-2004) added 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the effort for Irtysh. Barsy Atyrau have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain second place with 16-7 record having four points less than leader Irbis. Irtysh lost eleventh consecutive game. Newly promoted team stay dead last with 22 lost games. Barsy Atyrau will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Irtysh will play on the road against Aktobe (#4) and is hoping to prove to their supporters that they can break losing series.
Top scorers:
Barsy Atyrau: S.Ramazan 24+17reb+2ast, K.Mahamtet 16+10reb+2ast, R.Bogdan 13+5reb+11ast, M.Abat 11+2reb+1ast, T.Rahat 6+2reb, T.Timur 3+7reb+3ast
Irtysh: N.Gushchin 18+5reb+2ast, A.Nazim 18+13reb+1ast, I.Ali 16+6reb+4ast, I.Ruslan 7+3reb+4ast, B.Vadim 6+5reb+2ast, S.Meyrambek 1+3reb

Aktobe - Almaty L. 100-91

No shocking result in a game when fourth ranked Aktobe (12-10) beat at home 6th ranked Almaty L. (9-14) 100-91 on Monday. Aktobe forced 19 Almaty L. turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 30 assists. American point guard Shakir Smith (185-1992, college: ASU) orchestrated the victory by scoring 38 points (!!!) and 7 assists. His fellow American import center Jai Williams (206-1995, college: St.Joseph's) contributed with a double-double by scoring 12 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. Point guard Daniil Severgin (183-2005) answered with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists and the former international guard Stanislav Sahipov (190-2002) added 23 points and 6 rebounds in the effort for Almaty L.Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Aktobe have a solid series of four victories in a row. They maintain fourth place with 12-10 record, which they share with Astana Ac. Newly promoted Almaty L. keeps the sixth position with 14 games lost. Aktobe is looking forward to face bottom-ranked Irtysh (#8) in Pavlodar in the next round. Almaty L. will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Aktobe: S.Smith 38+2reb+7ast, B.Sergei 16+3reb+3ast, J.Williams 12+10reb+3ast, K.Neff 12+3reb+5ast, B.Nazmutdinov 10+7reb+1ast, A.Marat 6+5reb+5ast
Almaty L.: S.Stanislav 23+6reb+3ast, S.Daniil 18+5reb+10ast, K.Tabb 15+2reb+2ast, D.Albrant 14+5reb+1ast, A.Chilikin 10+3reb+2ast, K.Dias 6+3reb+3ast

Aktobe - Almaty L. 85-90

There was a minor upset when 4th placed Aktobe (12-10) lost at home to sixth ranked Almaty L. (9-14) 90-85 on Tuesday. Almaty L. made 17-of-20 free shots (85.0 percent) during the game. Almaty L. outrebounded Aktobe 48-31 including a 36-21 advantage in defensive rebounds. Almaty L. looked well-organized offensively handing out 32 assists. Point guard Daniil Severgin (183-2005) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. The former international guard Stanislav Sahipov (190-2002) contributed with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners. Almaty L.'s coach Iakov Fokin used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. American point guard Shakir Smith (185-1992, college: ASU) answered with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists and forward Sergei Bormatenkov (191-1991) added 14 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in the effort for Aktobe. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Newly promoted Almaty L. maintains sixth place with 9-14 record. Aktobe at the other side keeps the fourth position with ten games lost. They share it with Astana Ac.. Almaty L. will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Aktobe will play at home against Irtysh (#8) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Almaty L.: K.Tabb 21+8reb+7ast, S.Daniil 20+10reb+7ast, S.Stanislav 19+11reb+7ast, A.Chilikin 15+5reb+4ast, D.Albrant 6+2reb+1ast, F.Nikita 3+1ast
Aktobe: J.Williams 20+4reb, S.Smith 20+6reb+9ast, V.Petrishinets 14+6reb+1ast, B.Sergei 14+5reb+8ast, K.Neff 9+5reb+5ast, A.Marat 8+5reb+2ast

Caspiy Aktau - Irtysh 78-69

The game between closely ranked teams ended with seventh ranked Caspiy Aktau's (5-18) home victory over bottom-ranked Irtysh (1-22) 78-69 on Wednesday. Caspiy Aktau outrebounded Irtysh 62-40 including a 27-12 advantage in offensive rebounds. Caspiy Aktau looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. 25 personal fouls committed by Irtysh helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Russian forward Aleksandr Kalashnikov (196-2002) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 29 points and 11 rebounds. American power forward LaDarius Marshall (201-1999, college: Alcorn St.) contributed with a double-double by scoring 11 points and 18 rebounds for the winners. Guard Ali Isagulov (186-2004) answered with 20 points and 8 assists and forward Nazim Adylbekov (200-2001) added 9 points and 13 rebounds in the effort for Irtysh. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Newly promoted Caspiy Aktau maintains seventh place with 5-18 record. Irtysh lost eleventh consecutive game. Irtysh at the other side, also newcomer in the league, stay dead last with 22 lost games. Caspiy Aktau are again looking forward to face bottom-ranked Irtysh (#8) in Pavlodar in the next round. Irtysh will play on the road against Aktobe and is hoping to prove to their supporters that they can break losing series.
Top scorers:
Caspiy Aktau: K.Aleksandr 29+11reb+1ast, V.Kurochkin 13+11reb+4ast, L.Marshall 11+18reb+2ast, D.Zhanibek 9+7reb+9ast, P.Semyon 6+3reb+4ast, R.Artem 5+4reb+3ast
Irtysh: I.Ali 20+4reb+8ast, S.Meyrambek 14+4reb+3ast, A.Nazim 9+13reb+2ast, I.Ruslan 8+2reb+1ast, B.Vadim 8+7reb+5ast, N.Gushchin 5+4reb+2ast