Saratov, Samara and Moscow will host regular season games on Monday.
Avtodor (Saratov, Russia) vs Zenit (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Time: 19:00 (18:00 Mosocw time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS Kristall
Broadcast: Match! igra, TV Start, League website
Avtodor: After a losing streak at the start of the season, many experts were quick to fire Milenko Bogicevic, especially since coaches in Saratov are usually changed a lot. But Avtodor management gave the coach time to prove the situation and Bogicevic appears to have begun to get the desired effect from the team. In 2 Volga derbies (against Nizhny and Samara), the Saratov team won easily and looked good against UNICS. Avtodor signed a new short contract with Vasilije Pusica. The Serbian guard was unimpressive in the first few games, but in the game against Nizhny, he was one of the key factors scoring 10 points in the team decisive run.
Zenit: Since mid-October, Zenit has been on a strict win-loss schedule, alternating between good and bad games. After a loss to UNICS, the St. Petersburg team got back on track versus PARMA, allowing opponents to score only 54 points – Zenit best defensive game of the season. Although Xavier Pascual team remains in the lead, the problems are getting worse with each game. First of all, it concerns numerous injuries: Adrien Moermann became another player, who is out for at least a month. However, judging by Hunter last 3 games (19, 3 points), the American bigman is only too happy to become the team leader.
Samara (Samara, Russia) vs Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia)
Time: 19:30 (18:30 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SKK Dvorets Sporta.
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Samara: Samara head coach Drazen Anzulovic summed up the game against CSKA with the words “Defense has been our main problem in the last 3 games”. In fact, Samara has got 3 losses in a row. But before that, there was the winning game against UNICS, which Samara won using some unusual system (allowing 93 points), and before UNICS, Samara allowed 78 points to the worst offensive team in the regular season (MINSK), so the Volga team defensive problems are by no means immediate. On the other hand, Samara faces a team with the same systemic problems on offense.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Injuries of the backcourt players have led to Nizhny struggling to get points, even when the opponents are strong in defense. Since the game against Astana, Nizhny Novgorod has only scored 80 points once, and in the last 2 games the team hasn’t even managed to get 70. Zoran Lukic team can’t be blamed for a lack of teamwork: for example, Nizhny had 21 (!) assists for 64 points against Loko. The trouble is very poor shooting percentage. 36.8% from the game against Loko, 43.5% against Enisey, 37.1% against Avtodor – clearly not the kind of results that allow to expect a good result.
Runa (Moscow, Russia) vs Enisey (Krasnoyarsk, Russia)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, DS Dynamo
Broadcast: Match! Igra, TV Start, League website.
Runa: Like all newcomers, Runa is not stable yet – it can lose to an outsider and in a couple of games make a big sensation. That’s exactly the kind of results Runa has been showing lately: the team lost to MBA (third from the bottom of the standings at the time), then grinded out a rather difficult defensive win over MINSK (a team with no wins at all), and got an unexpected win against UNICS. One of the main favourites of the season was defeated in Kazan, despite a great game by Nenad Dimitrijevic. Since the Vikings current opponent can also be unpredictable, it’s not easy to name a favourite in the upcoming game. If the Moscow team will be able to win, Runa will not only break away from Top 3 rivals, but will also continue their UNICS pursuit.
Enisey: The Krasnoyarsk team is one of the hottest teams at the start of the season. After 2 losses in their first 2 games, Enisey has had a phenomenal streak of 6 wins in 7 games! Xavier Rathan-Mayes is still the team main offensive option, and Enisey has clearly gained more fans among neutral fans. After a relatively disappointing game against Zenit (the St. Petersburg team allowed Rathan-Mayes to score only 19 points), the American guard made 42 points versus PARMA, 31 points against MBA. Enisey guard has already more than 30 points 4 times in games, while demonstrating unprecedented offensive efficiency – 62% two-point shooting and 43% three-point shooting.
