Astana, Saratov and Moscow will host 3 regular season games on Sunday.
Astana (Astana) vs. Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod)
Time: 15:00 (13:00 Moscow time)
Place: Kazakhstan, Astana, SC Velotrek
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Astana: The Kazakh team during the February break underwent one, but very serious change. After a huge loss to Avtodor, head coach Oleg Kiselev was resigned, and Greek specialist Fotis Takianos took his place. Experienced coach was recognized in Greece as coach of the year in 2022, and recently worked in PAOK. Astana can be considered the favorite of the game: in addition to a motivation, which often happens in teams playing the first game with the new coach, the Kazakh team had more than 3 weeks to rest and prepare for the decisive stretch.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: But Nizhny can only dream about rest. The team played the previous game on February 29 in Yekaterinburg. It was difficult and exhausting. However, Zoran Lukic team has nowhere to go – another loss will almost eliminate the Volga team chances of making the Playoffs. The game against Uralmash was tense, so Nizhny is unlikely to be an easy opponent for Astana. It’s quite possible that the team newcomer Kendall Smith, who didn’t play against Uralmash, will make his debut in this game.
Avtodor (Saratov) vs MINSK (Minsk)
Time: 15:00 (14:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS Kristall
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Avtodor: February was probably the most successful month for the Saratov team this season. Avtodor won all 3 February games and has significantly improved in the standings. In the home win over MINSK, which is very likely given the result of their last game, the team will be separated from the Group B leaders by only 3 wins. In the next 3 games, Avtodor will have to play teams that are either lower in the standings (MBA, Nizhny) or the closest competitors (Runa). Whatever the case, Milenko Bogicevic team needs to beat MINSK for the third time in the season.
MINSK: The February game versus Avtodor didn’t end well, MINSK lost by 42. However, the next 2 games, which MINSK played against the leaders of Group B, became much more optimistic. Both against Samara and Uralmash the team fought to the last, both times bringing the games to tense endings. MINSK has enough games this season, in which the team was really close to winning, but each time something was missing – experience, luck, physical strength or roster. At least MINSK is trying to change things strengthening the roster with center Zach Smith. The American bigman is already familiar to the Minsk team fans: he already played for the team last season and had a good performance (9.9 points and 7 rebounds per game). He will replace Aleksander Zecevic, who left the team. Jovan Sljivancanin is another player who had returned and also strengthened the team.
Runa (Moscow) vs Uralmash (Ekaterinburg)
Time: 17:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, DS Dynamo
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Runa: Despite a solid start to the season and two head-to-head wins over Uralmash, the Moscow team is now 4 wins behind the Yekaterinburg team, while the team is in first place in Group B. Still, Uralmash couldn’t be called a clear favorite. Runa looks very convincing at home against equal teams – this season the Moscow te lost only once at home to a team that didn’t make the Top 6 (Nizhny at the very beginning of the season). Runa also looked brilliant in their last game before the break – the Vikings defeated another group leader, Samara, on the road to renew their season-high 98 points in the League and get close to their first 100 points. Jeremiah Hill played a phenomenal game, scoring 22 points in the decisive quarter, which was the best result of the season. Hill himself repeated his career-high.
Uralmash: February was incredibly busy for the team. Unlike most teams in the League, who played 2-3 games this month, Uralmash played 5 games and won all of them. The loss to Enisey on January 29 is the last one so far.. This winning streak allowed Rostislav Vergun team to take first place in the Group B and become the main contender for the play-in. The Yekaterinburg team is probably going to not only extend their streak, but also take revenge on Runa for 2 losses in the first stage. The game certainly doesn’t promise to be easy for Uralmash. The typical scenario for Uralmash during the winter stretch is to fight on equal terms or even concede throughout the game and snatch win in the end. It is quite possible that it will be repeated in the game with Runa.
