Liga Forward Round 5: Legion lose to Moy Telefon

Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

The most crucial game of the last round was the first loss of undefeated Legion (4-1) in Bishkek on Sunday night. Hosts were defeated by Moy Telefon (4-0) 83-67. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Legion. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Legion was trailing by 4 points at halftime but managed to get 4-point lead after three quarters before a 24-4 charge of Moy Telefon, which allowed them to win the game. They dominated on the defensive end, holding Legion to just 4 points in fourth quarter. Moy Telefon forced 22 Legion turnovers. Guard Zhanysh Adiev (190-90) stepped up and scored 34 points (!!!) and 6 steals for the winners and forward Nurbek Aydanbek (196-1) chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds. Nurtai Subanbekov (185-92) responded with 25 points. Moy Telefon have a solid series of four victories in a row. Defending champion keeps a position of league leader. Newly promoted Legion dropped to the second place with one game lost. Moy Telefon will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Legion will play at home against Nomad and is hoping to win this game.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Bishkek: Politekhnik (#5) and SHUM (#8). Politekhnik (2-2) crushed visiting SHUM (0-5) by 41 points 102-61. Point guard Syimyk Esenaliev (181-0) nailed 33 points (!!!) for the winning side and Sherzat Kenenov accounted for 17 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals. Center Garri Trulev (-98) came up with 12 points and 4 assists for SHUM in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Politekhnik moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Guiness-29 Jr. SHUM at the other side still closes the standings with five games lost. Politekhnik will play against Nomad (#6) in Osh in the next round. SHUM will have a break next round.
Bottom-ranked Grizzly (0-4) is still winless. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their fourth consecutive match to third ranked Guiness-29 (3-1) 122-68 on Sunday evening. The best player for the winners was Shakirzhan Kuranbaev who had a triple-double by scoring 19 points, 12 rebounds and 17 assists. Elkhan Malaev produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds for the hosts. Guiness-29 maintains third place with 3-1 record behind leader Moy Telefon. Loser Grizzly still closes the standings with four games lost. Guiness-29 will meet Nomad (#6) in the next round. Grizzly will have a break next round.

Politekhnik - SHUM 102-61

Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Bishkek: Politekhnik (#5) and SHUM (#8). Politekhnik (2-2) crushed visiting SHUM (0-5) by 41 points 102-61. The game without a history. Politekhnik led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. Politekhnik forced 27 SHUM turnovers and outrebounded them 54-42 including 27 on the offensive glass. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. Point guard Syimyk Esenaliev (181-0) nailed 33 points (!!!) for the winning side and Sherzat Kenenov (174-98) accounted for 17 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals. Four Politekhnik players scored in double figures. Center Garri Trulev (-98) came up with 12 points and 4 assists and forward Belek Bektenov (-95) added 9 points and 6 rebounds respectively for SHUM in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Politekhnik moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Guiness-29 Jr. SHUM at the other side still closes the standings with five games lost. Politekhnik will play against Nomad (#6) in Osh in the next round. SHUM will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
SHUM: T.Garri 12+4reb+4ast, R.Dzhangirov 11+6reb, B.Bektenov 9+6reb+2ast, Z.Andrei 8+5reb+1ast, N.Boyko 7+1ast, P.Alexander 6+8reb
Politekhnik: E.Syimyk 33+2reb+2ast, G.Roman 21+11reb+3ast, K.Sherzat 17+7reb+11ast, A.Omurbek 16+10reb+1ast, S.Bekbolsun 4+2reb+1ast, B.Nikolay 4+5reb

Legion - Moy Telefon 67-83

The most crucial game of the last round was the first loss of undefeated Legion (4-1) in Bishkek on Sunday night. Hosts were defeated by Moy Telefon (4-0) 83-67. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Legion. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Legion was trailing by 4 points at halftime but managed to get 4-point lead after three quarters before a 24-4 charge of Moy Telefon, which allowed them to win the game. They dominated on the defensive end, holding Legion to just 4 points in fourth quarter. Moy Telefon forced 22 Legion turnovers. Guard Zhanysh Adiev (190-90) stepped up and scored 34 points (!!!) and 6 steals for the winners and forward Nurbek Aydanbek (196-1) chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds. Nurtai Subanbekov (185-92) responded with 25 points and Aleksei Batskih (205-73) scored 10 points and 7 rebounds. Moy Telefon have a solid series of four victories in a row. Defending champion keeps a position of league leader. Newly promoted Legion dropped to the second place with one game lost. Moy Telefon will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Legion will play at home against Nomad and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Legion: S.Nurtai 25+4reb+3ast, B.Aleksei 10+7reb+1ast, A.Atay 8+3reb+3ast, L.Stas 7+6reb+1ast, V.Rybakov 6+5reb+2ast, P.Mihail 6+4reb+2ast
Moy Telefon: A.Zhanysh 34+3reb+3ast, A.Nurbek 13+9reb+2ast, E.Zhanarbek 12+6reb+1ast, N.Bakhtiar 6+9reb, K.Vladimir 6+5reb, P.Andrei 5+8reb+1ast

Grizzly - Guiness-29 68-122

Bottom-ranked Grizzly (0-4) is still winless. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their fourth consecutive match to third ranked Guiness-29 (3-1) 122-68 on Sunday evening. The game without a history. Guiness-29 led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. They dominated down low during the game scoring 90 of its points in the paint compared to Grizzly's 46. They outrebounded Grizzly 56-37 including a 45-21 advantage in defensive rebounds. Guiness-29 looked well-organized offensively handing out 39 assists comparing to just 16 passes made by Grizzly's players. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Guiness-29 made 8 blocks. The best player for the winners was the former international guard Shakirzhan Kuranbaev (170-84) who had a triple-double by scoring 19 points, 12 rebounds and 17 assists. Forward Aman Abdykerim (202-94) chipped in a double-double by scoring 25 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Elkhan Malaev (-92) produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds and point guard Almaz Abdyldaev (-83) added 17 points respectively for the hosts. Five Guiness-29 and four Grizzly players scored in double figures. Guiness-29 maintains third place with 3-1 record behind leader Moy Telefon. Loser Grizzly still closes the standings with four games lost. Guiness-29 will meet Nomad (#6) in the next round. Grizzly will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Grizzly: M.Elkhan 18+11reb+3ast, A.Almaz 17+3reb+3ast, B.Eldar 14+2ast, A.Tologon 10+3reb+4ast, K.Evgenii 6+5reb+1ast, N.Dastan 2+7reb+1ast
Guiness-29: P.Evgenii 26+9reb+3ast, A.Aman 25+11reb+6ast, D.Dmitrii 24+8reb+3ast, A.Nursultan 22+10reb+9ast, S.Kuranbaev 19+12reb+17ast, Z.Sergei 6+6reb+1ast



Tags : SHAKIRZHAN KURANBAEV, GUINESS-29, KYRGYZSTANI BASKETBALL