Russian Championship. One hundred points against Standart24 january 2007

In the second match in Samara, the Moscow Region Club racked up 100 points for a second time in the tournament, and once again against Standart Club. This time only 11 players were on the roster, with the captain watching from the bench.

The five upcoming games of the National Championship will be on BC Khimki’s home court, the first of them against Dynamo Moscow Region, on 27 January.

Top scorers: Fridzon (21), Lampe (20), Okulaja (19), Booker (12 + 9 assists), Diatchok (12).

Just because the match was against an outsider, the coach was not necessarily more at ease. On the contrary, his task was as challenging as ever: to build up team spirit, drilling the men with an understanding that they were armed with a hefty advantage both in strength and technique come game time, even when the more serious games are around the corner. Even so, acting Coach Bergman continued experimenting, and in the place of Torres and Gorenc, he sent out McCarty and Okulaja (Goliakhov y Podkolzin were also on the roster). In the starting line up: Lampe (for the first time as center), Booker, Fridzon, McCarty, and Veremeenko.

Two attempts at the basket made the mark; and Melvin Booker broke the epidemic of failed attempts from the perimeter. Maciej Lampe focused on come backs to Bezrukov’s attempts, while for more than five minutes, Lampe was the only visiting team player to score, making 5 field goals, from the paint without a flaw, and missing 1 of 3 successful shots from the arc. Kelly McCarty was slapped with two fouls and was switched for Sergey Krasnikov, while Lampe changed with Ademola Okulaja. At this point the remaining team mates realized they could also score; with outstanding: Fridzon (a 3-pointer), and Veremeenko, and Okulaja following up. In the first quarter Goliakhov replaced Booker so he could take a breather until the break, after which he hit the court again.

Ademola Okulaja opened up the score in the second quarter. The visiting team’s coaches decidedly gave the 11 players each a chance on court, though Ruben Wolkowiski, as apparent later on, was left idle, and Diatchok hit the court instead.

For almost 15 minutes 10 of the roster’s players got some game time, save for Wolkowiski and Podkolzin). After a defensive rebound (the fifth in his personal score) Fridzon racked up a 3-pointer taking it to: 35-22. Next up to bank a shot was Okulaja, whose own personal count was topping a dozen. Khimki’s players started to ease up though, and the coaches, trying to motivate the boys to pump up the volume on the defense (the home team had converted 5 out of 8 long distance field goals), called a time out. Coming out of the minute, Podkolzin, Veremeenko, and Lampe were launched.

The Moscow Region Club started the second half with the same starting line up. Lampe led the team once again, but was downed with his third foul, over Simon. The home team had four players with the same situation. Finally McCarty scored his first points, after which Fridzon scored a 3-pointer. Then, the gap was leveled at 15 points. Standart bombarded the team with some successful shots from the perimeter, making 9 out of 13 in the third quarter (though in the last quarter 6 shots missed the basket), kick starting the race to win.

But giving it up was not in the visiting team’s plans. Vladimir Diatchok and Vitaly Fridzon set off with highly effective plays in the beginning of the last quarter. Vitaly seemed to decidedly hand the game over to Maciej Lampe in the attempt at being the most effective player. After a time out, Bergman changed Lampe for Veremeenko. Okulaja found an assist from Booker at the perimeter with a pass he scored a 3-pointer – his first in this game – as did McCarty taking it to: 93-75. With two minutes to the siren, Booker, with 9 successful assists to his credit, was switched for Goliakhov. And Diatchok tossing it from the free throw line raised it to 3-digits on the scoreboard.