Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg will host 4 regular season games on Saturday.
Enisey (Krasnoyarsk region) vs MBA-MAI (Moscow)
Time: 16:00 (12:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnoyarsk, Arena Sever
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Enisey: The Krasnoyarsk team spent almost a month on a long road trip. That’s why the break clearly benefited the team. During that time, Enisey recovered from the numerous flights. This will be important against the direct rival. A win over MBA-MAI will return Enisey to 9th place in the standings. At the end of the regular season, this moment could be decisive.
MBA-MAI: The Moscow team lost to Enisey in both games this season. But now a different team will come to Krasnoyarsk. Vasily Karasev team has made good progress. The results confirm it. The last time MBA lost to a team outside the top-5 was in early December. During that time, the Moscow team has already won 6 games in a row over direct rivals. In this clash MBA-MAI will try to continue this streak.
CSKA (Moscow) vs UNICS (Kazan)
Time: 13:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Megasport.
Broadcast: Match TV, League website
CSKA: The battle for the lead will be the highlight of the final part of the regular season. The fans are going to see another chapter of this story at Megasport this Saturday. The Moscow team regained the top place in the last round. But now has as many wins as Zenit and UNICS (27 wins). So the upcoming game will be a great opportunityto pull away from at least one of the pursuers.
UNICS: UNICS’ record-breaking winning streak came to an end in St. Petersburg in the last round. Another challenge awaits Velimir Perasovic team. The Kazan team is playing hard against the Top-4 teams this season.UNICS lost both games against CSKA, but has found the game lately..
Zenit (St. Petersburg) vs Astana (Astana)
Time: 14:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, St. Petersburg, СSC Arena
Broadcast: League website
Zenit: While the main rivals will play with each other, the St. Petersburg team will host the last team of the League. In such a situation, it will be important for the hosts to maintain the concentration and motivation. The current season has already proven that any team can surprise. Zenit will have to fight not only for the win, but also for the score differential. The St. Petersburg team currently tied with CSKA for first place in the standings.
Astana: Astana lost to CSKA in Moscow last time, but still showed a decent level. Gleb Plotnikov team will be able to put up a fight against another league leader in St. Petersburg. Zenit looks formidable by name, but if the opponent underestimates, the Kazakh team will be able to surprise the opponents.
Uralmash (Yekaterinburg) vs Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar)
Time: 17:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Yekaterinburg, DIVS
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Uralmash: The hosts are still in a rebuilding phase. Uralmash added another player during this two-week break. Ilia Popov took the last spot on the roster for the season. It’s possible that we’ll finally see the full updated squad. In addition to the newcomers, the team’s main stars Jeremiah Martin and Octavius Ellis have recovered from injuries.
Lokomotiv Kuban: The Krasnodar team is also suffering from numerous injuries this season. But unlike the future rival, Loko is trying to solve the problems primarily through internal reserves. Now Loko has signed Tahjere McCall to replace Karvel Anderson. The American will probably make his debut in Yekaterinburg.
