Krasnoyarsk and Moscow will host 2 regular season games on Saturday.
Enisey (Krasnoyarsk) vs UNICS (Kazan)
Time: 17:00 (13:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnoyarsk, Arena Sever
Broadcast: Match! Igra, League website
Enisey: Jovica Arsic team couldn’t break the losing streak in St. Petersburg, but still the game with Zenit gave reasons for optimism. The Krasnoyarsk team not only forced the only undefeated team in Group A to play 2 overtime games, but also demonstrated team offense. The bench players scored 42 points and backed up Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Jeremiah Martin, while Dmitry Sonko had his best game in the VTB United League (15 points). It’s noteworthy that Enisey has already beaten UNICS this season with role players performances – Vladimir Karpenko and Sergey Balashov set career-highs in their January rivalry against the reigning champion. The Siberian team is quite capable of imposing a fight against the leader. In addition, the home court factor coul play a key role.
UNICS: The Kazan team winning streak was ended in Perm, forcing UNICS to once again share the top spot with CSKA. Velimir Perasovic team needs to keep winning to maintain its League-leading status. In the game with Enisey, it has everything it needs to do so: UNICS outperforms the Krasnoyarsk team in all shooting stats, and is also in the Top 3 in steals (7.5). Therefore, the Kazan team defense is capable of creating difficulties forMartin and Rathan-Mayes duo. The team offense also looks balanced and stable, with Nenad Dimitrijevic averaging 28 points in the last 3 games, Erick Green and Jalen Reynolds contributing off the bench. All of these factors make UNICS the favorite for the upcoming game.
Time: 15:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Basket Hall Moscow
Broadcast: Match TV, League website
CSKA: The trip to Krasnodar allowed the Moscow team to end the losing streak and take revenge for last year’s Semifinals and SuperCup Quarterfinals losses. The game with PARMA is no less crucial for CSKA, as the Perm team lead in face-to-face games this season (2-1). In the last game, CSKA was able to make a 10-point comeback in 3 minutes and won overtime for the third time this season. The Army team experienced roster has repeatedly shown discipline in the tight endings, which could play a decisive role tonight. In addition, the Moscow team plays at home and had already defeated the Perm team in October (77:76).
PARMA: The Perm team defeated UNICS at home. Notably, PARMA was able to win despite the absence of B.J. Johnson in the final quarter due to foul out. Now the team will face another League leader, but Evgeny Pashutin team is capable of upsetting the Army team for the third time this season. The team defense has never allowed CSKA to score more than the season average. PARMA is also the League leader in rebounds (38.1 per game), which means there will be a good opportunity to outplay the hosts in the paint. The Perm team is performing quite confidently in the endings and already has 2 clutch wins each over UNICS, Loko and CSKA. So there is a possibility that the game will go into the clutch.
