Ukraine – Superleague Round 13: No surprise as #1 Khimik defeats Mykolaiv

The round 13 was rather boring as all games ended with very predictable results.Superleague top team – Khimik (11-1) added another victory to their record on Friday. This time they beat seventh ranked Mykolaiv (5-7) 74-68. The guests trailed by 3 points at the halftime before their 24-6 charge in the third quarter, which allowed them to win the game. Khimik dominated on the defensive end, holding Mykolaiv to just 6 points in third and fourth quarters. The former international forward Volodymyr Koniev (203-89) stepped up and scored 18 points and 7 rebounds for the winners and international guard Oleksandr Ryabchuk (188-89) chipped in 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. At the losing side center Oleksandr Kushnirov (210-92) responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 16 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Defending champion maintains first place with 11-1 record. Mykolaiv lost third consecutive game. They keep the seventh position with seven games lost. Khimik are looking forward to face Kryvbas (#4) in Kryvyi Rih in the next round. Mykolaiv will play at home against Bipa Basket and it may be a tough game between close rivals. Second ranked Dnipro (9-3) crushed at home 10th ranked Kremen (2-9) by 38 points 94-56, which is the biggest margin this round. International forward Stanislav Tymofeyenko (202-89, agency: Octagon Europe) nailed a double-double by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds for the winning side and Olexandr Misyats accounted for 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Center Oleksandr Tyshchenko (206-89) came up with 12 points and 6 rebounds for Kremen 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. Dnipro maintains second place with 9-3 record having just two points less than leader Khimik. Kremen at the other side keeps the tenth position with nine games lost. Dnipro will play against bottom-ranked Avantazh-Polit. (#11) in Kharkiv in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Kremen will play on the road against Zaporizhya in Zaporozhye and hopes to get back on the winning track. There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 13: Budivelnyk won against VolinBasket on the opponent’s court 86-71. Kryvbas unfortunately lost to Bipa Basket in a home game 70-84. Bottom-ranked Avantazh-Polit. were rolled over Zaporizhya on the road 64-91. The most impressive stats of the last round was 23 points and 5 rebounds by Oleg Rudakov of VolinBasket.VolinBasket – Budivelnyk 71-86Very expected game in Lutsk where 9th ranked VolinBasket (2-8) was defeated by third ranked Budivelnyk (9-4) 86-71. The game was mostly controlled by Budivelnyk. VolinBasket was better in second period 25-22. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. Budivelnyk dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to VolinBasket’s 36. They outrebounded VolinBasket 36-22 including 16 on the offensive glass. Budivelnyk players were unselfish on offense dishing 24 assists comparing to just 11 passes made by VolinBasket’s players. Naturalized Moldovan center Stanislav Zavadsky (213-87) nailed 14 points and 6 rebounds for the winning side and power forward Vitaly Vintoniak (202-93) accounted for 6 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Four Budivelnyk players scored in double figures. Guard Oleg Rudakov (190-94) came up with 23 points and 5 rebounds and the former international forward Viktor Gerasymchuk (200-81) added 16 points respectively for VolinBasket in the defeat. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Budivelnyk maintains third place with 9-4 record having just one point less than leader Khimik. VolinBasket at the other side keeps the ninth position with eight games lost. Budivelnyk will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. VolinBasket will play at home against Cherkasy (#8) and it may be a …

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