National League Round 13 (Regular Season): #1 Astana is defeated by Caspiy Aktau

There are only two more rounds left in the Regular Season in National League. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was another loss of top-ranked Astana (23-3) on the court of second ranked Caspiy Aktau on Tuesday night. Visitors were defeated by Caspiy Aktau 73-68. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. Caspiy Aktau forced 23 Astana turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The former international center Vladimir Ivanov (208-1994) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 17 rebounds for the winners and American guard Eric McGill (190-1996, college: SIU) chipped in 13 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. At the losing side American point guard EJ Day (180-1999, college: Lasell) responded with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Astana's coach Ramunas Cvirka rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Caspiy Aktau maintains second place with 14-12 record having nine points less than leader Astana. Astana lost third consecutive game. They still keep top position with three games lost. Caspiy Aktau are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Tobol (#5) in Kostanay in the next round. Astana will play at home against Tobol (#5) and is hoping to win this game.
Important game to mention about took place in Nur-Sultan. Third ranked Almaty L. (14-14) saved a 3-point victory on the road edging leader Astana (23-3) 72-69 on Sunday evening. American guard Elijah Hardy (188-1999, college: CSUSB) nailed a triple-double by scoring 13 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for the winning side and Daniel Albrant accounted for 16 points. Almaty L.'s coach Oleg Ten allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. American guard Kam'Ron Blue (201-2000, college: Coppin St.) came up with 17 points and 6 rebounds for Astana in the defeat. Almaty L. maintains third place with 14-14 record having seven points less than leader Astana. Astana lost third consecutive game. They still keep top position with three games lost. Almaty L. will play against Barsy Atyrau (#4) at home in the next round. Astana will play against Tobol and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Very significant was Astana's (#1, 23-3) victory against their biggest opponent Caspiy Aktau (14-12) 75-53. EJ Day fired 19 points and 7 assists (made all of his eight free throws) for the winners. Eric McGill produced 14 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Astana maintains first place with 23-3 record. Caspiy Aktau at the other side keeps the second position with 12 games lost. Astana will meet at home bottom-ranked Tobol (#5) in the next round. Caspiy Aktau will play against Tobol and hope to secure a win.

In the last game of round 13 Almaty L. won against Astana on the opponent's court 86-77.



Caspiy Aktau - Astana 53-75

Very significant was Astana's (#1, 23-3) victory against their biggest opponent Caspiy Aktau (14-12) 75-53. Astana made 18-of-22 free shots (81.8 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 29 assists. American point guard EJ Day (180-1999, college: Lasell) fired 19 points and 7 assists (made all of his eight free throws) for the winners. The former international center Robert Pan (202-1995) chipped in a double-double by scoring 12 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Five Astana players scored in double figures. American guard Eric McGill (190-1996, college: SIU) produced 14 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists and the former international center Vladimir Ivanov (208-1994) added 7 points and 12 rebounds respectively for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Astana maintains first place with 23-3 record. Caspiy Aktau at the other side keeps the second position with 12 games lost. Astana will meet at home bottom-ranked Tobol (#5) in the next round. Caspiy Aktau will play against Tobol and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Caspiy Aktau: J.Moorman II 16+3reb+2ast, E.McGill 14+5reb+8ast, I.Vladimir 7+12reb+2ast, M.Roman 4+5reb+1ast, K.Gabiden 4+2reb, N.Alizhan 3+3reb
Astana: D.EJ 19+4reb+7ast, R.Aitkali 14+5reb+2ast, P.Robert 12+11reb+4ast, Z.Alexander 12+5reb+3ast, J.Adas 10+7reb+4ast, A.Maydekin 8+4reb+1ast

Caspiy Aktau - Astana 73-68

The most crucial game of the last round was another loss of top-ranked Astana (23-3) on the court of second ranked Caspiy Aktau on Tuesday night. Visitors were defeated by Caspiy Aktau 73-68. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. Caspiy Aktau forced 23 Astana turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The former international center Vladimir Ivanov (208-1994) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 17 rebounds for the winners and American guard Eric McGill (190-1996, college: SIU) chipped in 13 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. At the losing side American point guard EJ Day (180-1999, college: Lasell) responded with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and the former international center Robert Pan (202-1995) produced a double-double by scoring 12 points and 13 rebounds. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Astana's coach Ramunas Cvirka rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Caspiy Aktau maintains second place with 14-12 record having nine points less than leader Astana. Astana lost third consecutive game. They still keep top position with three games lost. Caspiy Aktau are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Tobol (#5) in Kostanay in the next round. Astana will play at home against Tobol (#5) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Astana: E.Day 28+5reb+5ast, R.Pan 12+13reb+1ast, M.Askar 11+9reb+2ast, A.Ruslan 10+6reb+4ast, M.Rustam 7+3reb+1ast, S.Amirali 0
Caspiy Aktau: M.JP 18+6reb+7ast, K.Neff 16+2ast, M.Eric 13+8reb+10ast, V.Ivanov 13+17reb+3ast, D.Denisov 9+1ast, V.Petrishinets 2+1ast

Astana - Almaty L. 77-86

There was a minor upset in Nur-Sultan where leader Astana (23-3) was defeated by third ranked Almaty L. (14-14) 86-77 on Saturday. Almaty L. forced 20 Astana turnovers. American guard Elijah Hardy (188-1999, college: CSUSB) fired 23 points, 8 assists and 5 steals for the winners. The former international guard Stanislav Sahipov (190-2002) chipped in 21 points and 6 rebounds. Hardy is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. International forward Askar Maydekin (203-1997) produced a double-double by scoring 13 points and 13 rebounds and American guard Kam'Ron Blue (201-2000, college: Coppin St.) added 23 points respectively for lost side. 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. Almaty L. maintains third place with 14-14 record having seven points less than leader Astana. Astana lost third consecutive game. They still keep top position with three games lost. Almaty L. will meet at home Barsy Atyrau (#4) in the next round. Astana will play against Tobol and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Astana: K.Blue 23+2reb+1ast, M.Askar 13+13reb+1ast, M.Rustam 11+2reb+4ast, C.Vadim 11+3reb, A.Zhigulin 7+8reb+2ast, A.Sardal 6+6reb+1ast
Almaty L.: E.Hardy 23+3reb+8ast, S.Sahipov 21+6reb+2ast, N.Fedchenko 13+3reb+1ast, D.Albrant 11+8reb, N.Adylbekov 8+8reb, D.Kalymbetov 3+1ast

Astana - Almaty L. 69-72

Important game to mention about took place in Nur-Sultan. Third ranked Almaty L. (14-14) saved a 3-point victory on the road edging leader Astana (23-3) 72-69 on Sunday evening. Almaty L. players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. American guard Elijah Hardy (188-1999, college: CSUSB) nailed a triple-double by scoring 13 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for the winning side and the former international center Daniel Albrant (205-1998) accounted for 16 points. Hardy is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Almaty L.'s coach Oleg Ten allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. American guard Kam'Ron Blue (201-2000, college: Coppin St.) came up with 17 points and 6 rebounds and international forward Askar Maydekin (203-1997) added 17 points and 5 rebounds respectively for Astana in the defeat. Four Astana players scored in double figures. Almaty L. maintains third place with 14-14 record having seven points less than leader Astana. Astana lost third consecutive game. They still keep top position with three games lost. Almaty L. will play against Barsy Atyrau (#4) at home in the next round. Astana will play against Tobol and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Astana: M.Askar 17+5reb+1ast, K.Blue 17+6reb+1ast, A.Zhigulin 11+3reb+3ast, O.Alexander 10+5reb+4ast, S.Valeriy 5+2reb, M.Rustam 5+4reb+5ast
Almaty L.: D.Albrant 16+4reb+1ast, E.Hardy 13+11reb+13ast, N.Fedchenko 11+4reb+2ast, N.Adylbekov 9+5reb, S.Sahipov 8+3reb+6ast, S.Daniil 6+2reb+1ast