The key events of January in the VTB United League.
CSKA is rewriting history
Emil Rajkovic, who headed CSKA in the summer, managed to make undefeated machine out of his team in a short period of time, which started in October at a high pace and only increases during the season. By January, the Army team had already won 18 games, repeating the best start in the League history that belonged to Khimki. And in the first game of 2023, CSKA updated this record by beating Enisey in Krasnoyarsk – 109:81.
After 4 days, the Army team set another League record, this time for the longest winning streak. According to the results of January, the Moscow team won all 23 games of the 2022/23 season and is the undisputed leader in the standings.
At the same time, CSKA demonstrates the best offense in history with 98.2 points per game. The record is still shared by Khimki and Loko, who scored 95.5 points in the 2015/16 season. 13 times – in more than half of their games this season – the Army team scored more than 100 points.
MBA comeback and win against Zenit in overtime
MBA had the main sensation of the month. The League newcomer, weakened by injuries, hosted Zenit in one of the last games of the first stage – and in the third quarter trailed by 20 points.
But instead of giving up and saving energy for the upcoming game with Pari NN, MBA made a comeback in 2 minutes with 4 three-pointers in a row. The Moscow team could have won in regulation, but Evgeny Valiev missed the shot in the last seconds of the fourth quarter.
And yet MBA managed to make the biggest comeback of the season, as Timofey Yakushin made a winning shot 16 seconds before the end:
Zenit had enough time for a saving shot, but at the most important moment Thomas Heurtel made a turnover. For the first time in its history, MBA beat the United League Top 3 team.
2 winning shots in 3 seconds in Saratov
But MBA – Zenit game was not so unpredictable as the first game of the year in Saratov. Avtodor and PARMA-PARI did not reveal the winner in regular time and continued the battle in the overtime…
…where Danilo Nikolic made a fadeaway mid-range shot 1.2 seconds before the end. But after a timeout the Perm team let Justin Roberson to shoot – and he scored a 9-meter shot!
Not only the players, but also the coaching staff ran out to celebrate the win. Of course, it is difficult to overestimate this shot: PARMA-PARI took the 7th place in the standings and slightly broke away from the 9th placed Avtodor.
For the win
Roberson’s shot is the most emotional this month. But in January, 4 more players scored winning shots. Timofey Yakushin led MBA to win over Zenit:
Daryl Macon helped UNICS make a 13-point comeback against Pari Nizhny Novgorod:
Vladislav Emchenko made Loko win in St. Petersburg:
And Ivan Viktorov put an end to the game against Avtodor:
Shower of the Month
Just before the Volga derby with Pari NN, UNICS head coach Velimir Perasovic fell ill and his assistant Artur Bigeev led the team. During the game, the Kazan team trailed by 13, but in the 4th quarter UNICS made a comeback and Daryl Macon scored the winning three-pointer.
Of course, UNICS players have to congratulate Artur Bigeev for the first win as the head coach:
Performance of the Month
Zenit returned to the Megasport for the first time after the 2022 Finals. The reigning champion played the first half on equally against CSKA – 43:43 by the halfitme.
And in the third quarter, Casper Ware put on his own show. The Army team guard made 4 three-pointers in a row, helping CSKA to get a double-digit lead. As a result, Ware scored 20 points in the quarter and became a kay player of the game – Zenit lacked of confidence and lost by 20 points – 80:100.
Fans in Perm
The best average attendance in the League belongs to PARMA–PARI (although this no longer surprises anyone): on average, 5.5 thousand fans come to the games in Perm. Nevertheless, the atmosphere at the game with UNICS, which was attended by 6,210 fanss, was fantastic.
Just look at this:
It is not surprising that PARMA-PARI almost beat the Kazan team, but Isaiah Reese made 1 out of 2 free-throws at the decisive moment. But in an overtime, more experienced UNICS took the win – 89:82.
The All-Star Game Rosters
In January, the League held the All–Star Game voting – and its results are already known. The Old School team roster was determined by the fans, and the media chose 10 players for the New School team. Another 4 players received a wild card from the League.
The All-Star Game 2023 final rosters
The All-Star Game 2023 will be at VTB Arena in Moscow on February 19. You can buy tickets on the website https://tickets.vtb-league.com/
