National League Round 3 (Regular Season): Caspiy Aktau edges Astana Ac. by one point

It's still too early stage of the Regular Season in National League, but even now we can clearly see the difference between stronger teams and outsiders. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 3 in the National League took place in Aktau. This derby game ended with only one-point defeat on the road of Astana Ac. (1-3) to Caspiy Aktau (4-0) 82-81 on Saturday evening. Host team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. Caspiy Aktau looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Caspiy Aktau made 7 blocks. The best player for the winners was the former international guard Maksim Marchuk (195-1994) who had a double-double by scoring 11 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists. American power forward LaDarius Marshall (201-1999, college: Alcorn St.) chipped in 18 points and 11 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international point guard Magzhan Sarsengaliev (187-2002) who recorded 22 points, 6 assists and 6 steals. Astana Ac.'s coach tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Caspiy Aktau are looking forward to face Almaty L. on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Astana Ac. will have a break next round.
Very important is a road loss of Barsy Atyrau (2-2) against Aktobe (2-2) on Sunday night. Visiting Barsy Atyrau was defeated by Aktobe in a tough game in Aktobe 94-101. The game was dominated by American players. It was a good game for guard TK Smith (196-1998, college: PVAMU, agency: MSG) who led his team to a victory with 38 points (!!!) and 5 assists. Devin Evans contributed with 17 points and 4 assists for the winners. Guard Aamer Muhammad (185-2001, college: Troy) answered with 32 points, 7 assists and 4 steals for Barsy Atyrau. Barsy Atyrau's coach Alexandr Lyssyak let to play eleven players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Caspiy Aktau delivered the fourth consecutive victory on Sunday night. This time they beat Astana Ac. (1-3) 71-56. It was a great evening for LaDarius Marshall who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 13 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field). The best for the losing side was Sardal Abashidze with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Caspiy Aktau will meet Almaty L. on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Astana Ac. will have a break next round.

In the last game of round 3 Barsy Atyrau defeated Aktobe in a road game 89-84.



Caspiy Aktau - Astana Ac. 82-81

The most exciting game of round 3 in the National League took place in Aktau. This derby game ended with only one-point defeat on the road of Astana Ac. (1-3) to Caspiy Aktau (4-0) 82-81 on Saturday evening. Host team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. Caspiy Aktau looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Caspiy Aktau made 7 blocks. The best player for the winners was the former international guard Maksim Marchuk (195-1994) who had a double-double by scoring 11 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists. American power forward LaDarius Marshall (201-1999, college: Alcorn St.) chipped in a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international point guard Magzhan Sarsengaliev (187-2002) who recorded 22 points, 6 assists and 6 steals and forward Sardal Abashidze (196-2002) added 11 points respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Astana Ac.'s coach tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Caspiy Aktau are looking forward to face Almaty L. on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Astana Ac. will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Caspiy Aktau: R.Marchuk 21+3reb+3ast, L.Marshall 18+11reb+3ast, G.Korganbaev 14+2reb+2ast, M.Marchuk 11+16reb+5ast, Z.Dzhakauov 6+1reb+3ast, A.Rolgeyzer 6+4reb+4ast
Astana Ac.: M.Sarsengaliev 22+4reb+6ast, I.Pestov 11+2reb+3ast, A.Suleimenov 11+3reb+1ast, S.Abashidze 11+4reb+2ast, Z.Medovskoy 9+1reb+1ast, A.Zhandarbek 7+6reb

Aktobe - Barsy Atyrau 84-89

There was no surprise when Aktobe (2-2) was defeated at home by Barsy Atyrau (2-2) 89-84 on Saturday. Barsy Atyrau looked well-organized offensively handing out 33 assists. The game was also dominated by American players. It was a great evening for Keith Charleston (203-1995, college: SE Louisiana, agency: Bell Basketball) who led his team to a victory with a triple-double by scoring 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Guard Aamer Muhammad (185-2001, college: Troy) helped adding 20 points and 7 assists. Four Barsy Atyrau players scored in double figures. Barsy Atyrau's coach Alexandr Lyssyak used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. The best for the losing side was guard TK Smith (196-1998, college: PVAMU, agency: MSG) with a double-double by scoring 29 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists and forward Devin Evans (206-2001, college: USC Aiken, agency: Haylett Sports) scored 9 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Barsy Atyrau: A.Muhammad 20+4reb+7ast, K.Charleston 15+11reb+10ast, A.Kuantaev 12+6reb+1ast, A.Omarov 11+4reb+1ast, A.Oralbekov 10+1reb+2ast, M.Uapov 8+5reb+5ast
Aktobe: T.Smith 29+12reb+6ast, A.Junusov 18+1reb+4ast, A.Aliev 15+4reb+1ast, D.Evans 9+12reb+6ast, B.Omarov 8+2reb+2ast, K.Utegen 4+3reb+2ast

Caspiy Aktau - Astana Ac. 71-56

Caspiy Aktau delivered the fourth consecutive victory on Sunday night. This time they beat Astana Ac. (1-3) 71-56. Caspiy Aktau made 16-of-21 free shots (76.2 percent) during the game. They also forced 26 Astana Ac. turnovers. Caspiy Aktau looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Caspiy Aktau made 7 blocks. It was a great evening for American power forward LaDarius Marshall (201-1999, college: Alcorn St.) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 13 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field). The former international guard Maksim Marchuk (195-1994) helped adding 15 points and 4 assists. Four Caspiy Aktau players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was forward Sardal Abashidze (196-2002) with 13 points and 9 rebounds and the former international point guard Magzhan Sarsengaliev (187-2002) scored 10 points, 9 assists and 4 steals. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Caspiy Aktau will meet Almaty L. on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Astana Ac. will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Caspiy Aktau: L.Marshall 20+13reb+3ast, M.Marchuk 15+3reb+4ast, R.Marchuk 11+5reb+3ast, K.Neff 10+1reb+1ast, Z.Dzhakauov 6+4reb+8ast, A.Rolgeyzer 5+3reb+3ast
Astana Ac.: S.Abashidze 13+9reb+1ast, M.Sarsengaliev 10+3reb+9ast, V.Simonov 9+5reb, I.Pestov 8+4reb+2ast, Z.Medovskoy 5+2reb+1ast, A.Zhandarbek 3+4reb+2ast

Aktobe - Barsy Atyrau 101-94

Very important is a road loss of Barsy Atyrau (2-2) against Aktobe (2-2) on Sunday night. Visiting Barsy Atyrau was defeated by Aktobe in a tough game in Aktobe 94-101. Aktobe players were unselfish on offense dishing 24 assists. The game was dominated by American players. It was a good game for guard TK Smith (196-1998, college: PVAMU, agency: MSG) who led his team to a victory with 38 points (!!!) and 5 assists. Forward Devin Evans (206-2001, college: USC Aiken, agency: Haylett Sports) contributed with 17 points and 4 assists for the winners. Guard Aamer Muhammad (185-2001, college: Troy) answered with 32 points, 7 assists and 4 steals and Keith Charleston (203-1995, college: SE Louisiana, agency: Bell Basketball) added 11 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists in the effort for Barsy Atyrau. Five Aktobe and four Barsy Atyrau players scored in double figures. Barsy Atyrau's coach Alexandr Lyssyak let to play eleven players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Aktobe: T.Smith 38+3reb+5ast, A.Aliev 21+4reb, D.Evans 17+4reb+4ast, B.Omarov 12+5reb+7ast, A.Junusov 11+3reb+2ast, K.Utegen 2+2reb+2ast
Barsy Atyrau: A.Muhammad 32+3reb+7ast, A.Oralbekov 19+3reb+4ast, A.Omarov 14+2reb, K.Charleston 11+10reb+8ast, A.Marat 6+1reb+1ast, A.Kuantaev 6+1reb+1ast