Parma Stuns UNICS With Away Win Behind Primo's 22

Parma began the new VTB United League season with an away win over UNICS, taking it 97-88 in Kazan.

Joshua Primo, the club's summer signing, top-scored with 22 points, making 6 of 7 shots from the field and 7 of 9 from the line.

Head coach Evgeny Pashutin pointed to how little time his squad had together before the opener.

"This is a big win for us. We understand perfectly well how strong UNICS are. They are a multiple league finalist. They have a long bench, six imports and very solid Russian players. We only came together as a team a week ago — the lads arrived one by one, so the pre-season was patchy. I want to thank my team for embracing one idea and coming together. They did not look at who missed or how many shots someone took, they tried to help each other on defence. There were mistakes, of course — UNICS scored 88 points because they are a high-level opponent. But even when they scored, we tried to defend so that the points came hard for them, through contested hands or at the cost of fouls. I want to single out our bench — everyone who came on gave everything, especially in the first two quarters. Today our strength was unity. It's clear that Joshua Primo scored the most points, but what matters is that the lads shared the ball and were not greedy. That is our strength, and I am sure we will add to it. We have big goals ahead of us. We have time to come together and play to win. I am pleased for everyone. I want to congratulate the whole organisation, the club and the lads," Pashutin said.