Moscow will host 2 regular season games on Monday.
CSKA (Moscow) vs. Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar).
Time: 19:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Megasport
Broadcast: Match! Igra, TV Start, League website.
CSKA: The Moscow team lost 3 straight games at Megasport. The losses to Enisey and Zenit were due to CSKA unstability – the St. Petersburg team dominated the entire first half, while Enisey took the final quarter with confidence. In their last game with Loko, Emil Rajkovic team also missed a second-half breakthrough, but managed to made a comeback in 3 minutes to win. Once again, the Moscow team will have a tough game, which is also has a great importance – in case of winning, the Moscow team will catch up with UNICS and can claim the top spot in the standings as early as the next round.
Lokomotiv Kuban: The Krasnodar team managed to tie the season series against UNICS and beat PARMA for the first time since last year Playoffs. In both games, the team outrebounded their opponents. It’s noteworthy that both the Perm and Kazan teams have athletic bigmen, and Evgeny Pashutin team generally leads the League in rebounding. Therefore, Aleksander Sekulic frontcourt will likely be able to win the battle in the paint. Loko lost a double-digit lead at the end of the previous game against CSKA, so the team will go to Moscow with a special attitude. In case of winning, the Krasnodar team will win the season series.
Runa (Moscow) vs Samara (Samara)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, DS Dynamo
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Runa: The Moscow team finally got on the winning path – after the triumph in Minsk, the team managed to snatch the end from Pari NN and strengthen in a step away from the play-in zone. The Vikings are behind MBA in extra points, so the team needs not just to win, but to do it with a big score difference. Cameron Young return from injury may help, as the guard had a decent stretch against Nizhny. The return of one of the leaders and long losing streak ending will give the Moscow team confidence before facing the second best offense in Group B.
Samara: Unlike their opponents, the Volga team has already accomplished the key goal of the second stage and – guaranteeing the play-in spot. Drazen Anzulovic team continues to gain momentum ahead of the crucial games of the season. Losses to Nizhny and Uralmash showed that the team will have to address the lack of concentration. Samara has made 20 turnovers in each of their last 2 games. However, Samara offense remains one of the most dangerous in the League – top-3 in long-range shooting and the best shooting percentage in Group B. The Volga team confidently outperform the Vikings, so they will have a good chance of winning in the upcoming game.
