Runa will host CSKA in the Game of the Week on Saturday.
Place: Russia, Moscow, Moscow, DS Dynamo
Time: November 18, 2023, 16:00
Broadcast: TV Start, Match! Strana, League website
Meet the new capital derby: Runa versus CSKA, the newcomer against the most titled team.
Rivalry history
The teams have never played in an official game. That’s not surprising, though, as this season is Runa’s debut in the United League. And the club is quite young – it was founded less than 10 years ago.
This season
To say that the both Moscow teams are impressive is to say almost nothing.
Runa began the season with 3 straight wins over Avtodor, Uralmash and Samara. Pari Nizhny Novgorod ended the newcomers’ winning streak – 82:78. However, 3 days later the Vikings won again, showing PARMA a master class in defense (70:64). The game with MBA was no less dramatic than the one with Nizhny: the score was tied until the last possession, and only in the very end Runa let the win slip away (84:86). The next game was already a good opportunity for the fans to rehabilitate – MINSK was defeated in Belarus (71:53).
Perhaps the biggest achievement for Runa so far is the win in Kazan. The Vikings had a double-digit lead for almost the entire third quarter and allowed UNICS to get back into the game, but held off the reigning champion in the final seconds, holding on for a win and moving up to the 3rd place in the standings.
However, this Monday Runa lost to Enisey (77:92) and a place in the Top 3.
CSKA is doing just fine: a week ago, the Army team the only team in the League without a loss. Only Sunday’s game with Loko didn’t end the way the coaching staff led by Emil Rajkovic had planned (88:91). Despite that, CSKA tops the standings with a 9 wins and 1 loss.
Why can Runa win?
Yes, the Vikings clearly don’t look like the favorite against the Army team. Still, the VTB League newcomers can win.
Runa has no authority, which is clear at least from their recent trip to Kazan. Erturul Erdogan team methodically prepares for each opponent and tries to find their weaknesses.
The newcomer is stronger in rebounding/ the team is better than CSKA even in offensive rebounds (10.1 rebounds per game), which allows them to score a second-chance points. The Army team is last in offensive rebounds (8.4 per game) and only 10th in total rebounds (33.0).
But the team shouldn’t rely only on winning rebounds – it’s also important to work hard on defense. However, Runa defense is also doing well: letting opponents to score 76.8 points per game – Top-5 in the League.
Why can CSKA win?
The Army team has had an excellent winning streak, which has helped to pull away from main rivals. Loko has already reminded that there are no undefeated in the United League, but on the other hand, this loss may psychologically help the team, because now there is no need to think about extending winning streak, but rather focus on the standings and the next game.
CSKA has had plenty of time to prepare for Runa. The Army team approach the game as favorite: more experience, deeper roster, much brighter stats. The team is better than the Vikings in many aspects: score more (86.7 points to 80.3 points), better score three-pointers (39.5% to 32.2%), and value the ball more (11.0 turnovers to 14.6 turnovers).
The big question is whether CSKA will be able to build a team defense that can stop the opponent’s leaders – Jeremiah Hill and Juwan Morgan – and shut down rebounding Alex Tyus and Ilya Popov. After all, as the game against UNICS showed, Runa is great at fast-paced offensive basketball, but has problems at a positional possessions.
#SoldoutChallenge
Before the game with CSKA, Runa launched a challenge aimed at getting a sold-out.
Within the framework of #SoldoutChallenge the team offered discounts on tickets using various promo codes, invited fans with viral videos:
And even promised to organize an open training session in case of a sold-out. And it seems that Runa will have to show the fans the team’s training process – there are almost no tickets left for the game against CSKA!
Old-new friends
Runa has 2 ex-CSKA players – Danila Pokhodaiev and Kirill Savin, which played in CSKA Youth.
But the Army team has no ex-Runa players… But has an ex-coach! Oleg Bartunov led Runa for 3 seasons, but after the club moved to the United League, he left his position as head coach and joined Emil Rajkovic’s coaching staff. This will be Bartunov’s first game with his former team.
