Astana will host the regular season game on Saturday.
Astana (Kazakhstan) – PARMA-PARI (Russia)
Time: 15:00 (12:00 Moscow time)
Location: Kazakhstan, Astana, Saryarka
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Astana: There are still more than 3 weeks until the end of the regular season, but the Kazakh team has rather theoretical chances of reaching the playoffs – and even those are extremely small. On the other hand, with the win over MINSK a month ago, Astana secured from finishing the season on the last place. But this does not mean that Oleg Kiselev team will go to the game with PARMA-PARI without motivation – after all, the team will certainly want to please its fans with another home win. Unlike the Perm team, Astana will not have any psychological pressure, which should help players to relax and show their best game. Considering how tightly PARMA is able to defend, it is important for Astana to value the ball, not to make turnovers, and even more so not to allow the guests to make fast-breaks. It will be interesting to watch the duel of the centers: Astana has one of the best rebounders Michael Myers, PARMA-PARI has the All-Star Game MVP Malik Dime and the powerful Joel James.
PARMA-PARI: Unlike Astana, PARMA-PARI seriously claims for the playoffs place and the team cannot make mistakes in the remaining 3 weeks, especially in games where it will be considered as the main favorite. The game in Kazakhstan will be exactly like this: the Perm team look much preferable to their opponents – at least in stats. In addition, PARMA probably have a desire to take revenge on Astana for the October road lose – then the Perm team made 14 fewer rebounds and allowed the opponent to feel too comfortable. PARMA-PARI has repeatedly shown how to turn on at the most important moment, and now in Kazakhstan it is necessary to competently defend against the leaders, without losing concentration from the start.
