Moscow and Minsk will host 2 regular season games on Sunday.
CSKA (Moscow) vs Uralmash (Yekaterinburg)
Time: 14:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Megasport
Broadcast: Match! Igra, TV Start, League website
CSKA: CSKA started their home series with a win over Runa. CSKA once again had more rebounds (38 vs. 29) and focused on bigmen. Tonye Jekiri, Amath M’Baye and Livio Jean-Charles each scored 10+ points. In the first round game against Uralmash, the trio scored 51 points and had contributed on the win. The Moscow team is capable of outscoring Uralmash once again with height advantage. Octavius Ellis, who scored 20 points in the first game, can prevent that, so Emil Rajkovic will have to find a way to stop the Yekaterinburg team leader.
Uralmash: The last game showed that Uralmash depends not only on long-range shots, as the team managed to defeat Astana even with 20%. To get into the Top- 6, the Yekaterinburg team need to win and hope for PARMA and Samara losses. Extending the winning streak against CSKA won’t be easy due to the size difference. In the first game, the Army team made 13 more rebounds than Uralmash. But Rostislav Vergun team is in the Top 2 in assists (19.5), and Octavius Ellis remains the League’s second best scorer (25.9). Therefore, Uralmash is capable of putting up a fight against the League leader.
MINSK (Minsk) vs Runa (Moscow)
Time: 16:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Belarus, Minsk, Minsk-arena.
Broadcast: Match! Igra, TV Start, League website.
MINSK: The Minsk team made an outstanding 45% of the three-pointers against MBA and lost only in the decisive quarter. Aleksander Zecevic is averaging 14.5 points in the last 2 games and is helping Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson lead the team. MINSK fastbreaks can be especially effective against Runa offense, so the team has every chance to get their first win of the season. In addition, the Belarusian team will again play at home, where they perform much better than on the road.
Runa: The Vikings played all 3 games against Top 5 teams and after the loss to CSKA almost lost their chances for the Top 6 spot. But Erturul Erdogan team is at the 9th place and has good prospects for the second stage. Runa ranks third in the League in two-point shooting (55.7%) and average assists (18.0). Nikola Ivanovic and Juwan Morgan, who returned from injury, are scoring 14.7 and 11.8 points, adding variation to the offense. The Moscow team approach the game as favorites.
