Krasnoyarsk, Astana, Saratov and Yekaterinburg will host 4 regular season games on Sunday.
Enisey (Krasnoyarsk region) vs MBA-MAI (Moscow)
Time: 16:00 (12:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnoyarsk, Arena Sever
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Enisey: Despite the loss to Zenit, the trip to St. Petersburg gave the Siberian team coaching staff reason for optimism as Vladislav Odinokov and Dmitry Sonko had good performances. The role players confidence will also be important against MBA-MAI, which Enisey is one win ahead of. To maintain the place in the standings, the Krasnoyarsk team needs to win, and Sergey Dolinin and other forwards outstanding play in the paint can help the team. Also the Siberian team has home court factor, where the team is performing better than on the road this season.
MBA-MAI: The 3-game losing streak has dropped MBA-MAI to 11th place in the standings, but the team will have a chance to move closer to the Top 8 in case of win in Krasnoyarsk. According to many team stats, the Moscow and Siberian teams are almost similar, so leaders performances will play an important role. Vasily Karasev team will be able to count on Andrey Zubkov, as he averages 14.5 points per game, while Enisey has no players with a similar average performance. In addition, the Moscow team won the last clash in Arena Sever.
Astana (Astana) vs Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar)
Time: 16:00 (14:00 Moscow time)
Place: Kazakhstan, Astana, Velotrek Saryarka
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Astana: After the resignation of Fotis Takianos Astana faced another loss – Markell Johnson left the team. But despite the massive changes, Astana showed effective defense on the road and was able to fight Uralmash (62:72). The next attempt to get the first win of the season will be against Loko, who defeated the Kazakh team last time. But Gleb Plotnikov team is more likely to put up a fight, as Andrey Desyatnikov has returned since then, and Galin Smith and Danila Pokhodiaev have regained their optimal shape.
Lokomotiv Kuban: After a good start, Loko ran into trouble and lost 3 games in a row. Andrei Vedischev team will have a chance to get back on the winning track in Kazakhstan. Astana will be without a backcourt leader, so B.J. Johnson and Patrick Miller will have more freedom in offense. In the last rivals game, Loko set season-high performance (127-84). Therefore, the Krasnodar team has a good mood and motivation to end losing streak.
Avtodor (Saratov) vs Zenit (St. Petersburg)
Time: 16:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS Kristall
Broadcast: Match! Igra, League website
Avtodor: The Saratov team continues to chase PARMA and Uralmash, settling in the Top 8. The team’s current streak includes 2 wins, the last was in a tense ending in Samara. This could be the addition to the team’s confidence ahead of a tough matchup with Zenit. Avtodor had already lost to Zenit earlier in the season, but didn’t let the formidable opponent get further 5 points for 30 minutes. The Volga team will be able to put up another fight with home crowd and long-range shooting, which ranks in the top 3 in the League (36.4%).
Zenit: Xavier Pascual team goes to the road series in good mood – the team has already 5 wins in a row and 2nd place in the standings. In Saratov, the St. Petersburg team will have to stop the hosts sharpshooters. And Zenit has many ways to do it – the team is in the Top 3 in steals (8.6 per game), and also tops the League in blocks.
Uralmash (Yekaterinburg) vs. Samara (Samara Region)
Time: 18:00 (16:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Yekaterinburg, GAUSO “Dvorets Igrovykh Vidov Sporta”
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Uralmash: The Yekaterinburg team beat Astana (72:62) without Stanley Whittaker and retained the 7th place. For the second home game in a row, Uralmash will play against the rival from Samara. Since then, Rostislav Vergun team has become much more varied in offense – in addition to Whittaker and Jeremiah Martin, Johnny O’Bryant and Viacheslav Zaitsev have showed good scoring. Rebounding is also the hosts advantage, so fans in Yekaterinburg have reason to expect a win.
Samara: The Volga team was able to get 1 win in 4 games and dropped to the 9th place. The trip to Yekaterinburg also promises to be difficult – Samara hasn’t beaten Uralmash in 4 games. But Nyssier Brooks and Aleksandr Gudumak returned to the roster, adding to the team’s power and size in the paint. Problems with shooting have also been eliminated – Samara is ahead of its future opponent in field-goal percentage. Therefore, Drazen Anuzlovic team is preparing to take revenge for the losses.
