Astana, Parm, Kazan and Saratov will host 4 regular season games on Saturday.
Astana (Astana) vs. MBA (Moscow)
Time: 15:00 (12:00 Moscow time)
Place: Kazakhstan, Astana, Velotrek Saryarka
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Astana: After losing in overtime to PARMA, the Kazakh team lost to Uralmash in a tense ending. Astana is tied with MBA in the standings and has dropped to 12th place, but the team has every chance to return to the 11th place. Oleg Kiselev team has better two-point shooting (51.7% vs. 49.5%) and long-range shooting (36.1% vs. 32.9%) than MBA, and Carvel Anderson is still one of the League’s best shooters (40% three-pointers made). Shooting could help the Kazakh team break their losing streak and take revenge for their first-round loss to MBA.
MBA: The win over MINSK was the third straight for the Moscow team. Gleb Goldyrev and Vladislav Trushkin are scoring 9.6 and 21.0 points in the last 3 games, which is more than 75% higher than their season average. Now MBA offense has become even more varied and team-oriented as players averaging 21 assists during the winning streak. Efficient and fast-paced offense helped the Moscow team to defeat Astana 101:78 in the first round.
PARMA (Perm) vs. Enisey (Krasnoyarsk)
Time: 15:00 (13:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Perm, UDS Molot
Broadcast: Match! Igra, Start Triumph, League website.
PARMA: The Perm team has won 2 of their last 3 games despite a difficult schedule. Defense played a decisive role against UNICS – PARMA allowed the League’s second best offense to score only 68 points. However, such successes still didn’t guarantee PARMA the Playoffs. Samara has the same win-loss balance (12-10), while Enisey is at the 5th place with 13 wins and 9 losses. Evgeny Pashutin team leads the League in rebounding average and in the Top 3 in blocks and will have use that against the Krasnoyarsk team. But it will be the duel between B.J. Johnson and Enisey leader Xavier Rathan-Mayes, two of the League’s best scorers.
Enisey: The Krasnoyarsk team finished the home series with 2 wins, one was over UNICS with a 14-point difference. The game with PARMA has an importance. A win will solidify the team’s 5th place, and if loss the Perm team will catch up. The key to success for Enisey will be Jeremiah Martin and Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who remain the League’s best offensive duo. And it looks like the guards know the key to the opponents defense – in the first round game, Martin and Rathan-Mayes scored 60 points combined and brought their team a win.
UNICS (Kazan) vs Zenit (St. Petersburg)
Time: 15:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Kazan, Basket Hall
Broadcast: Match TV, League website
UNICS: For the first time since last April, the Kazan team got 2 straight losses against Enisey and PARMA. As a result, the team now has to share the 2nd through 4th places with Loko and Zenit, having the same win-loss balance as their rivals (16-6). In the first round game, the bigmen actions helped the Kazan team grab 14 more rebounds than the St. Petersburg team and win. Velimir Perasovic team has every chance to break the losing streak if UNICS will use frontcourt and find a way to stop the opponent’s shooters.
Zenit: The St. Petersburg team got into the new year with 3 wins. But wins are hard to come by for the team – Zenit beat PARMA only in overtime, and the game versus Avtodor had ended in a clutch ending. Vince Hunter played an important role in those games, both times being the best scoring player with 18 and 25 points. The center is playing an important role in offense, and will be extra motivated in Kazan, playing against former teammates. Zenit lost the third quarters against the Perm and Saratov teams by 14 and 9, so the second half will be an important factor.
Avtodor (Saratov) vs Samara (Samara)
Time: 17:00 (16:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS Kristall
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Avtodor: Although the Saratov team lost to Loko and Zenit in their last 2 games, the team put up a fight against strong opponents. In St. Petersburg, Avtodor led for the entire fourth quarter and lost only in the end. The reason for the high level of play of Milenko Bogicevic’s team was Dominic Mavra. The guard made 3 double-doubles with assists in a row. Rayshawn Hammonds, who is scoring 17 points per game in the new year, has also stepped up. But against Samara, Avtodor will need to continue to use teamplay.
Samara: Drazen Anzulovic team continues to chase PARMA and still sits at the 7th place in the standings. The Volga team won 2 games against Uralmash and Pari NN. High shooting efficiency and defense played a key role in those games – allowing their opponents to score less than 74 points, Samara made 40% and 38% three-pointers. It won’t be easy for the team to extend the winning streak in Saratov. Avtodor in the first round was able to defeat Samara shooters and finished the game with a 12-point lead.
