The desire wasn't enough

Spartak lost to UNICS - 64:77 -  in Week 16 of the regular season. Gundars Vetra can't fault his men for lack of effort, but Spartak just didn't have the talent needed to win. Playing without Andrew Goudelock, Kazan took over when it needed to and had little trouble pulling out the win.

Intro
For Spartak, currently hanging by a thread in the playoff race, every game is huge. UNICS, on the other hand, has already clinched 1st place in Group A. For the first minutes of the game, however, the visitors looked more invested and sprinted out to  a 15-6 lead. Kostas Kaimakoglou stepped up in place of the absent Andrew Goudelock to put UNICS on top. Spartak, though, found itself soon enough. Steven Burtt led the way, scoring 13 of his team's 22 points in the first quarter, with the home team even taking the lead at the end of the period, 22-20.

The second quarter began much like the first. Chastised by head coach Andrea Trinchieri during the pause, Kazan refocused on defense, shut down Burtt and quickly took back the lead. The quarter belonged to UNICS, which reestablished its halfcourt offense, and kept Spartak from enjoying much success. By outscoring Spartak by 10 points in the period, the Tatar club hit the locker room with a 43-35 lead.

After a slow start to the second half, Spartak drilled back-to-back 3-pointers (Artem Yakovenko and Donald McGrath) to get back in the game. The home team may not have taken the lead, but they trailed by just six points, 61-55, entering the fourth.

Turning Point
Both teams looked fatigued in the final quarter and frequently turned the ball over. Ultimately, it worked in UNICS's favor. Not just because Kazan simply needed to hold on to its lead, but also because the home team made more mistakes. The fourth quarter was low-scoring and physical, featuring 25 total points. By maintaining control of the tempo, Kazan had little trouble securing the road win, 77-64.

Star of the Game
Kostas Kaimakoglou. Kazan played without leading scorer Goudelock, but the Greek forward did everything he could to make up for the American guard's absence. His 21 points, along with a great effort on the glass and in defense, helped UNICS to the win.

Stat of the Game
20 - Spartak committed too many turnovers.

Quotes
UNICS head coach Andrea Trinchieri:
- Allow me to compliment Gundars Vetra. He has done amazing work with the team. His club demonstrates good basketball and was a tough opponent for us. We didn't have an easy time today. True, there was a question as to our motivation. We had an important Eurocup game this week, but today we played well on defense throughout the entire game.

Spartak head coach Gundars Vetra:
- We didn't play very aggressively today and didn't fight like we should have in a game that's very important for us. Plus, we committed a lot of turnovers. Of course, UNICS right now, even without one of its leaders Goudelock, played better than a week ago. But our mistakes also played into the opposition's hands.

Top Performers
Spartak: Steven Burtt - 21 points; Jared Homan - 12 points, 10 rebounds; Artem Yakovenko - 12 points, six rebounds; Donald McGrath - three points, seven assists.

UNICS: Kostas Kaimakoglou - 21 points, six rebounds; Nikita Kurbanov - 11 points; Ian Vougioukas - 10 points, eight rebounds; Vladimir Veremeenko - eight points; Chuck Eidson - five points, six rebounds.