St. Petersburg and Minsk will host the regular eason gmaes on Monday.
Time: 19:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Belarus, Minsk, Minsk Arena
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
MINSK: The Belarusian team is still the only one without wins in the new season. Nevertheless, MINSK also shows progress: in the game against Samara at home, Rostislav Vergun team played good for a long time and lost only in the end (68:80). And Uladzislau Bliznyuk showed his best basketball in his career scoring 26 points and 5 assists. The injury of Zach Smith will be a big problem against UNICS, because the center is among the leaders in rebounds, and he would greatly help the Belarusian team with the powerful UNICS front court.
UNICS: The Kazan team is going to the capital of Belarus undefeated – the team won all 7 games at the start of the season. UNICS should have no problems with MINSK, because Velimir Perasovic team are stronger in all stats, from points scored to assists and ball handling. If UNICS will not underestimate the opponent, it will be able to extend the winning streak. The coaching staff may well unload the leaders before a difficult game with CSKA in Moscow.
Zenit (Saint Petersburg) – Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod)
Time: 20:00 (20:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saint Petersburg, Sibur Arena
Broadcast: TV Start Triumph, Match TV, League website
Zenit: After the first month, the reigning champion is in 3rd place and has already had 2 losses – despite the team had only 4 for the entire last regular season. The coaching staff led by Xavi Pascual is still looking for a team game that has been solidly updated over the summer. The game with Pari NN will be quite difficult, but the St. Petersburg team has a good chance to start a new winning streak: they defend much better and have a more effective offense. In addition, Nizhny Novgorod cannot win in St. Petersburg since 2019. It will be interesting to see how Sergey Toropov will play against his former team – the forward showed his best in Pari NN and this summer he moved to Zenit.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: As soon as it seemed that the Volga team found their game, winning 2 games and moving to the 4th place, they lost to MBA at home in overtime. So far, the team has not demonstrated the stability that Zoran Lukic expects, but this does not mean that Nizhny Novgorod cannot surprise. Pari NN has a deep rotation that can both stop an opponent in the paint and on the perimeter. However, NN should pay attention to ball control – the team still lose the ball a lot, and in a game with the reigning champion, every mistake will reduce the chances of winning.
