Game 3 told the same story – there’s no doubt left: in the semifinals of the Fonbet Russian Championship, Yekaterinburg booked their place in the Final without any drama. The matchup in Orenburg followed a familiar script, as the reigning champions were once again too strong, defeating Nadezhda 84–61.

Quarter scores: 21–17, 18–24, 9–21, 13–22

The first quarter was played at a high tempo and with plenty of intensity. The hosts opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but the Foxes quickly answered with a deep shot from Bentley, setting the tone for a back-and-forth battle. The teams traded baskets, applying physical defense and capitalizing on mistakes. However, late in the quarter, Dmitrii Donskov’s players committed a couple of turnovers, which Orenburg immediately converted into points to take a 21–17 lead.

In the second quarter, the visitors stepped up their trademark defensive pressure and improved their ball movement. By the middle of the period, UMMC had moved ahead by five points and soon extended the lead to eight, forcing the home bench to call a timeout. The adjustment worked — Evgeny Ivanov’s team managed to steady the game and cut the deficit, but Yekaterinburg went into halftime in front, 41-39.

The third quarter proved to be the turning point — and, in effect, the moment the game slipped away from the hosts. The Foxes opened with a dominant 10–0 run, quickly building a double-digit lead (+12). Their defense completely shut down Nadezhda’s offense, holding them to just nine points in the period — a telling statistic in itself. UMMC controlled the tempo, dominated the boards, and executed their possessions with composure, entering the final quarter ahead 60–48.

In the fourth quarter, there was no real contest left. The hosts began to feel the effects of fatigue, while the visitors continued to pull away, pushing the margin beyond 20 points. Dmitrii Donskov’s team calmly closed out the game with a convincing 84–61 victory.

UMMC wrap up the series 3–0 and advance to the Final, where they will face Dynamo Kursk in the battle for gold. The opening games of the series will be played in Yekaterinburg on April 19 and 21.

Nadezhda: Komarova (21 points), Beverly (15).

UMMC: Kosu (18 points), Walker (12), Bentley (11), Klyundikova (10 +11).