The VTB United League regular season is entering the last stage. The teams have 10-12 games left to play. These games promise to be tense and exciting. We highlight the main intrigues of the key phase of one of the most exciting regular seasons in history.
Will CSKA maintain its lead in the standings?
The main intrigue at the end of the regular marathon remains the battle between CSKA and UNICS for first place. The Moscow is still leading the tournament. CSKA is one win ahead of the pursuer and has the advantage in rivalry history (2-1). But this gap does not seem fatal for Kazan team.
Both teams are having a very strong season, making virtually no mistakes. They have only lost to each other, as well as once to BETCITY PARMA in Perm. So this intrigue will most likely be decided in head-to-head. It will be on March 15 in Kazan. And here, the Volga team will have to solve a double task. The team will need to not only win, but do so by 15 points or more. In this scenario, UNICS will have the advantage over CSKA.
Whose winning streak will end first – CSKA or UNICS?
In addition to the battle for lead between CSKA and UNICS, there is another intrigue. Both teams are currently on winning streaks that could well become record-breaking.
The Kazan team has not lost a game at home in the VTB League regular season (including last season) for 25 games. This is the longest active streak in all of Europe. The last time UNICS lost a regular season game at Basket Hall on December 1, 2024 to Loko.
After the loss in Kazan on November 15, CSKA has won 17 games in a row. This is the 5th-best result in the League history. The next milestones on the way to the top are 18, 19 and 20. The record itself also belongs to CSKA. In the 2022/23 season, the Moscow team went 24 games without losing.
One of these current winning streaks will not continue beyond March 15, when UNICS and CSKA face again in Kazan. However, in order to keep the intrigue alive, the leaders will have to take one more step. The Volga team must beat Zenit, and CSKA must defeat Pari NN.
Who will take sixth place?
Another intriguing aspect of the regular season finale will be the battle for 6th place. Three clubs are battling for it: MBA-MAI, Uralmash and Enisey. What’s more, they are only a win apart.
The situation is slightly worse for Enisey, who are at 8th place. The team is behind competitors in head-to-heads, has lost leader Danilo Tasic due to injury and got a difficult schedule ahead. 8 of remaining 11 games will be against teams in the top five. However, the Siberian team has already surprised and defeated Zenit. And most of remaining games will be in Krasnoyarsk.
Uralmash, currently at 7th place, will be playing more road games at the end of the season. At the same time, the Yekaterinburg team has an easier schedule than competitors. With Timofei Gerasimov imminent return, Anton Yudin’s team could still step up and win the race for sixth place.
However, MBA-MAI will clearly disagree with this scenario. The team is one win ahead of the rivals, have the advantage in head-to-heads, will play most of their remaining games at home and have a less demanding schedule at the finish than Enisey. The Moscow team still has head-to-heads with both of rivals ahead. And it is very likely that these games will decide the fate of sixth place in the standings.
Is Pari NN capable of a miracle?
Pari NN is currently 4 wins behind Enisey, which is at 8th place. For the finish of the regular season, this gap looks more than substantial. But Nizhny Novgorod team has already accustomed basketball fans to the fact that miracles can always be expected from this team. Yes, in the current situation, the Volga team’s chances of making the playoffs are not that great. But they do exist, which means that Pari NN will definitely try to take this opportunity.
The team still has 11 games ahead of it, which makes a potential comeback entirely possible. A combination of experience and youth, along with a fighting spirit should help Pari NN on this path. Sergey Kozin team will do the best to prove that the battle for the playoffs this season is still wide open.
Will Nikita Mikhailovskii retain his lead in the scoring race?
Mikhailovskii took the lead in the scoring race in the first games of the season and has remained at the top throughout the season. The last time the Russian player was the top scorer in the VTB League regular season 7 years ago. At that time, Alexey Shved won the title twice in a row. Nikita has an excellent chance to repeat that milestone.
Several factors speak in Mikhailovskii favor in this battle. He is the undisputed leader of his team, enjoys the trust of the coaching staff.
