Saratov, Samara and Krasnodar will host 3 regular season games on Friday.
Avtodor (Saratov) – Enisey (Krasnoyarsk)
Time: 19:00 (18:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS Kristall
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Avtodor: The Saratov team perform extremly good at the second stage. Avtodor has won all 4 games, is leading the Group B and remains the only team that has not lost a single game at this stage of the season. It is impossible not to note the coaching staff: Branislav Vicentic, who headed the team in mid-January, is close to taking Avtodor to the playoffs. But to do this, it is very important to beat Enisey. The Krasnoyarsk team has also gained a good pace during the season, so Friday’s game will be extremely difficult for the Volga team – even though it will be in Saratov. It is worth paying attention to Malik Newman – the guard leads the best scoring players list with 19.3 points per game and at the end of February he was named the MVP of the month. The newcomer Sean Armand, who scored 6 points and 5 assists against PARMA-PARI, will gradually add some force. And the day before the game, Avtodor announced Agasiy Tonoyan signing, who started the season in the Super League team Barnaul.
Enisey: It is difficult to overestimate the significance of the game for the Siberian team. At the first stage of the regular season, Enisey had a poor performance, lost too mant games in the endings and now has to catch up with the main competitors in the Group B. In case of win over Avtodor, Enisey will get as close as possible to the Tip-3. But it will not be very easy to win in Saratov, because their opponent got most of his wins (8 out of 11) at home. Drazen Anzulovic team will try to cope with the active defense. The key to success should be the defense itself – especially considering the game in Samara, where Enisey allowed the League newcomer to score only 69 points.
Samara (Samara) – MINSK (Minsk)
Time: 20:00 (19:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SCC Dvorets Sporta
Broadcast: TV Start Triumph, League website
Samara: The League newcomer started the second stage as the leader of Group B, but in 5 games got only 1 win just over MINSK. Nevertheless, Sergey Bazarevich team has every chance to participate in the playoffs in their debut season. In the game against MINSK, Samara will be a clear favorite. But at the same time, in each of 3 games of the season, the Volga team beat the Belarusian team with great difficulty, and the last road win was only in overtime. Samara should approach this game with the and avoid demotivation – in this case, the team will be able to return to the winning path.
MINSK: Unlike its rival, the Belarusian team has lost all chances of getting into the playoffs. MINSK losing streak is 16 games in a row and this has already led to the fact that Rostislav Vergun team is separated from the nearest competitor Astana by 4 wins. If MINSK loses in Samara on Friday, then 3 weeks before the end of the regular season, the team will lose even the theoretical opportunity to leave the last place in the standings. But before the All-Star Game, the Belarusian team noticeably increased and almost beat Samara at home, not keeping the lead in regulation and losing in overtime. If MINSK continues to progress, it will still be able to please its fans in the 2022/23 season.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar) – MBA (Moscow)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Broadcast: TV Start, Match! Igra, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: Loko slowly started the 2022/23 season, but gradually accelerated and are ready to push Pari Nizhny Novgorod from the fourth place. To do this, Aleksander Sekulic team needs to beat MBA at home. And in general, the Moscow team still leads in rivalry history score. However, with the huge win before the All-Star Game (89:60), Loko already has the best +/- difference against MBA, so a win on Friday will actually protect Lokomotiv from falling to sixth place in the standings. The Krasnodar team is stronger in all stats, which makes them nominal favorites of the game. Especially attention should be paid to rebounding, where Horton – Martiuk duo will face Valiev, Pushkov and Kliuev.
MBA: Unlike Loko, MBA started their first season in the League very cheerfully, but after the New Year the team began to decline. This is largely due to injuries – two main guards Aleksandr Khomenko and Makar Konovalov were injured at the same time. In 2023, MBA won only 1 game, and at the second stage it is still 0-4. The game in Krasnodar is almost the last chance to try to climb higher in the standings, because in case of lose, the gap from competitors will be decent, and there will not be so many games in the schedule. The problem for the coaching staff may be Andrey Lopatin injury, who risks missing the game with Loko. At the same time, in mid-February, MBA took a major loss against the Krasnodar team at home, which should motivate the team to take revenge in Krasnodar.
