Samara and Kazan will host 2 regular season games on Saturday.
Samara (Samara Region) vs. BETCITY PARMA (Perm)
Time: 15:30 (14:30 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SKK Dvorets Sporta
Broadcast: VK Video, VTB League website
Samara: The Volga team started with 2 losses, but in both cases looked decent and has a good chance of getting first win of the season. Samara main problem is injuries and lack of stability. Vladislav Konovalov team started with a 14:0 run against Avtodor, demonstrating good ball movement, speed and defense. But then the team didn’t have enough for the whole game. The outcome will largely depend on Nikita Mikhailovskii and Mikhail Kulagin this time around.
BETCITY-PARMA: The Perm team had a mixed season start: the huge loss in Kazan, a disappointing road loss to Pari NN, but then a sensational and beautiful win over CSKA (83:80) at home. The reigning champion proved to be an excellent motivator for Evgeny Pashutin team, especially Jalen Adams (27+5+7).
UNICS (Kazan) vs Uralmash (Yekaterinburg)
Time: 16:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Kazan, Basket Hall
Broadcast: Match TV, VK Video, VTB League website
UNICS: The Kazan team got off to a strong start, confidently defeating BETCITY-PARMA (+20) and Zenit (+27). Dominant newcomer Marcus Bingham became contender for MVP of the month award with 27+5 and 22+8 while missing minimum shots. UNICS is strong in discipline, good defense, team basketball, and balance. If we imagine the League’s Power Rankings at the start of the new season, UNICS would certainly be at the top.
Uralmash: After the loss to Zenit in the WINLINE Basket Cup, Rostislav Vergun said: «I have one feeling, that I owe it to all these fans who came to the game and bought tickets». The huge loss at home was the second in a row, which had previously lost to MBA-MAI. The ambitious team has roster difficulties: Octavius Ellis, Garrett Nevels and Yaiheni Beliankou did not play against the St. Petersburg team. So Uralmash has a difficult task ahead – to get back to winning path, but the opponent is very strong.
