Almaty and Minsk will host 2 regular season games on Sunday.
Astana (Astana) vs MBA (Moscow)
Time: 15:00 (13:00 Moscow time)
Place: Kazakhstan, Almaty, DS im. Baluana Sholaka
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Astana: The Kazakh team slightly improved the place in the standings after win over Runa. However, in the next game, Fotis Takianos’ team failed the win Uralmash. The leader of Group B had no trouble coping with the team, beating them on the road with a 35-point difference. Astana has long since lost the status of one of the best home teams, which it was famous for at the beginning of the season. In 2024, the Kazakh team played 7 games at home and got only 2 wins. In addition, the arena where the team will play this time is still unlucky: in 5 games in Almaty, Astana has not won a single game since 2022.
MBA: In recent games, the Moscow team has a 3-game winning streak. This is the team’s second such streak this season – before that,MBA won 3 in a row in January. Now the team will have to prove that this winning streak is not overdue. However, the schedule does not favor: although Astana, is in a clear crisis, MBA will have to travel to Saratov and then play at home against Nizhny – both teams look clearly stronger now than they did at the start of the season. Thus the Moscow team had one of their best offensive games since the start of the regular season against Runa, even though the team’s brightest offensive player Daniil Kasatkin made only 2 of 10 shots from the game (however, MBA guard rehabilitated with excellent rebounding).
MINSK (Minsk) vs Runa (Moscow)
Time: 15:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Belarus, Minsk, Falcon Club
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
MINSK: Last round MINSK took a loss in a scenario that has already become familiar. In the game against Nizhny, the game was equal for 3 quarters and took the lead several times, but in the final quarter MINSK ran out of energy – despite Zach Smith performance (21 points and 14 rebounds), MINSK scored only 12 points in the final quarter. The fact that Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson (17 points, 6 of 16 from the game) played a role, and other leading players (Motovilov, Cebasek, Sljivancanin) didn’t shine in offense that day (10 points combined). The Belarussian team progress in recent games is noticeable, but it’s still not enough.
Runa: Although Runa has 12 more wins than the opponent, it’s hardly possible to call Vikings the clear favorite – the Moscow team has a long losing streak. The loss against MBA was the fifth in a row for Runa. Erturul Erdogan also noted the presence of a crisis in the team, complaining that Runa has lost the chemistry that the team had at the beginning of the season. According to Erturul Erdogan, if the team doesn’t regain its conditions soon, it won’t be easy for the team to qualify for the play-in. Since February win over Samara, the Vikings have never scored 85 points in their next few games, dropping to 10th place in the League in average scoring.
