Irkut defeated the Priangarye team in the basketball season closing match

Irkut basketball players played their season closing game against the Irkutsk Region team made up of the strongest local players. The amateurs led by up to 20 points, but the pros turned the game around and won by a wide margin. Head coach Yuri Kovalev said the team keeps training after the official games and plans a June trip to China for a series of friendlies. MVPs were Nikita Ovchinnikov and Fedor Prikhodko, and Alexey Gorbunov won the three point contest.

The Priangarye team was represented by the strongest players from different teams competing in the Irkutsk Region championship. For more than half of the game, the amateurs were ahead on the scoreboard, with the largest lead reaching 20 points. However, the Irkutsk basketball players managed to catch up with their opponents, ultimately winning by a comfortable margin.
As a reminder, the professional team from the capital of Priangarye finished its campaign in the Russian men's Higher League championship in 8th place.
“After the official matches ended for us in mid-April, we continued our training process,” said Yuri Kovalev, head coach of BC Irkut. “It was very interesting for us to play against the amateur team, because the Irkutsk basketball players are very familiar with those who play in the Irkutsk Region championship. We ourselves played for different teams in Irkutsk and Angarsk a year ago, when Irkutsk was forced to miss the Higher League season. This match is not our last appearance on the court before the summer break — in June we plan to visit China and play a number of friendly matches there with local teams.”
The season-closing match was organized by the Irkutsk basketball club and the Irkutsk Region Basketball Federation. The title of “MVP of the match” was awarded to Nikita Ovchinnikov (BC Irkutsk) and Fyodor Prikhodko (Irkutsk Region team, IGU-Veterans team). The three-point shooting competition, with the highest score — 19 points in one minute — was won by Alexey Gorbunov from the regional team (Zenit team).
Based on materials from the press service of the Ministry of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk Region