Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg, Samara and Moscow will host 4 regular season games on Sunday.
Enisey (Krasnoyarsk) vs CSKA (Moscow)
Time: 17:00 (13:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnoyarsk, Arena Sever
Broadcast: Match TV, TV Start, League website
Enisey: The Siberian team still has a chance to fight for 5th place. On the one hand, Enisey has already beaten all of their opponents in the final stretch of the regular season (CSKA, PARMA and Loko) this season. On the other hand, most of those wins were at the first stage. After the start of the second stage, Jovica Arsic team seemed to lose the pace and won only 1 game out of 7. Zenit had no problems against the Krasnoyarsk team in the last game. There is a chance that Xavier Rathan-Mayes can catch up and surpass Karvel Anderson in three-poiners made in a season, setting a new League record (they are now separated by 5 long-range shots). And the battle for the season MVP title is far from over.
CSKA: Although the Moscow team is far from stable, CSKA has more suitable position now. After UNICS’ loss to Zenit, the team is back at the 1st place. The end of the season will be interesting: CSKA and UNICS have 25 wins each, but the Moscow team has one less game to play. The trip to Krasnoyarsk will be that extra game: If the Army team gets a win, UNICS will only have to rely on wins in the main game of the season, a face-to-face rivalry against CSKA on April 13. If CSKA will lose in Krasnoyarsk, the Kazan team will only has to win game at home, and then UNICS is guaranteed to win the regular season. So a rivalry with Enisey might make life a lot easier for Emil Rajkovic team.
Uralmash (Yekaterinburg) vs Astana (Astana)
Time: 17:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Ekaterinburg, GAUSO “Dvorets Igrovykh Vidov Sporta”.
Broadcast: League website
Uralmash: The newcomer remain the main favorite to win Group B. Recently the team has only strengthened the place and winning streak has already reached 5 games. It’s safe to say that the team management’s unexpected move to bring in Rostislav Vergun has paid off, as Octavius Ellis signing in the offseason. The center was the main driving force behind Uralmash winning path in March and was named MVP of the month. April also started well for Ellis: Uralmash defeated Nizhny, and Ellis had a solid double-double – 16 points, 15 rebounds and 35 eff. points. In the game against Astana, the center will surely try to deliver another strong performance.
Astana: After losing to Runa, the Kazakh team lost even a theoretical chance of making the play-in. But although, Astana no longer has standings motivation, other objectives remain – the Kazakh team can play more freely, trying to please the fans with wins at the final stage. Another thing is that all of Astana opponents (Uralmash, Avtodor and Samara) need wins in their last games, and no one will give them to Fotis Takianos’ team. Karvel Anderson continues to improve his United League record for three-pointers made (he now has 108), and his teammates will probably try to help him get as far away from Rathan-Mayes.
Samara (Samara) vs Avtodor (Saratov)
Time: 17:00 (16:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SKK “Dvorets Sporta”
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Samara: The upset against MBA has all but put an end to Samara attempts to get first place in the Group B. In theory it’s still possible, but it can happen only in the case of a fantastic set of circumstances. By winning the Volga derby, the team virtually guarantee second place in Group B and can quietly prepare for participation in the next stage – the results of the last games will no longer be critical. This may even be good for Drazen Anzulovic team: the team has 3 losses in 4 games, and there’s not much time left to overcome problems before the most important games of the season.
Avtodor: The previous game between these teams took place recently (March 21). The teams tried to maintain a high pace, but turned into technical fouls and poor shooting. Avtodor had a low field-goal percentage (32.8%), while Samara did better, but not by much (42.6). That game ended Avtodor 7-game winning streak, which at the time was the longest in the League. However, the Saratov team had already secured a spot in the play-in.
Time: 17:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, DS Dynamo
Broadcast: Start, League website
Runa: After Astana and Nizhny elimination, only 2 Moscow teams will compete for the last play-in spot. Their face-to-face rivalry should be the key – only a win will allow Runa to claim the Playoffs until the end, although the team can’t be considered a favorite at the moment. Even the previous games results are on MBA side – Vasily Karasev team leads 2-1 in the season series. Lately, Runa seems to have picked up momentum with 3 wins in 4 games, but all of them were achieved against teams from the bottom of the standings. So the game against MBA that will be the ultimate test for the United League newcomer.
MBA: MBA winning streak has lasted almost a month and has reached 7 games, and during that time the Moscow team has consistently beaten all 3 Group B leaders. MBA is in great shape before one of the most important games of the season. In case of a win in the Moscow derby, the task of getting into the play-in can be considered almost completed – Vasily Karasev team has only 2 home games ahead against Astana and MINSK, which have no specific goals.
