Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Perm will host regular season games on Sunday.
Enisey (Krasnoyarsk) vs Zenit (St. Petersburg)
Time: 17:00 (13:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Arena Sever
Broadcast: Match! Igra, TV Start, League website
Enisey: The Krasnoyarsk team defeated Uralmash and Astana. It won’t be easy to extend the winning streak against the St. Petersburg team. In the first round, the League’s best defense already stopped Jeremiah Martin and Xavier Rathan-Mayes. But a lot has changed since November – Rathan-Mayes has become much more consistent (averaging 28 points in the last 6 games), Yauheni Beliankou and Vladimir Karpenko progress has added variation to the offense. In addition, the Siberian team will play at home, where has been very confident this season. Therefore, Jovica Arsic team has every chance to take revenge on Zenit.
Zenit: The St. Petersburg team lost to Nizhny and dropped to the 4th place of the standings. The team made only 15% of three-pointers. But this season, Zenit has never played more than one game with such a low percentage of long-range shots made. Vince Hunter, who is having one of his best stretches of the season – the center has averaged 17 points over the last 4 games. The American bigman is also a defensive leader of the team with blocks on average lead. His play in the paint can help the St. Petersburg team to stop Enisey offense and got the win in the last game of the first stage.
CSKA (Moscow) vs UNICS (Kazan)
Time: 14:00 (Moscow time)
Palce: Russia, Moscow, Megasport
Broadcast: Match TV, TV Start, League website
CSKA: The Army team is a sole leader in the standings. Casper Ware helped the team with his performances, scoring an average of 20 points over the last month. Emil Rajkovic offensive system continues to work well – with the best assist rate in the League (20.7), CSKA remains the highest scoring team (88.5 points). In the first round, the Moscow team offense has already helped to take the lead over the reigning champion with 12 offensive rebounds and an advantage in assists. CSKA is capable of upsetting the Kazan team once again, but to do so, the team will have to find a way to guard Nenad Dimitrijevic, who recently had one of the best games of his career.
UNICS: The Kazan team rehabilitated after 2 losses at the start of the year and strengthened the place in the standings. Nenad Dimitrijevic has played a key role, as the Macedonian guard led UNICS’ comeback against Zenit and scored 35 points against Avtodor. He will need to play at a high level again to win the duel with Casper Ware. Ismael Bako and Jalen Reynolds will also have a big responsibility in the upcoming game as they will have to find a way to win rebounds against Emil Rajkovic powerful frontcourt. But the Kazan team will also get an advantage with most aggressive defense in the League this season and leads the League in average steals (7.8).
Uralmash (Yekaterinburg) vs MBA (Moscow)
Time: 17:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Yekaterinburg, DIVS
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Uralmash: Octavius Ellis’ performance (23 points, 9 of 9 from the game) helped the team to end the losing streak and defeat Pari NN. The Yekaterinburg team leaders regained the confidence after a bad stretch: 5 players managed to score more than 10 points. The final game of the first stage will be a good opportunity for Rostislav Vergun team to strengthen the 8th place in the standings. Uralmash was able to beat MBA without Ellis this season, so the American center presence could be a factor in the hosts additional advantage. In addition, the Yekaterinburg team outscore their future opponent in average points (79.4 vs. 75.2) and two-point shooting percentage (51.5% vs. 49.4%).
MBA: After a good stretch in early January, MBA had 3 consecutive losses, which worsened prospects for the second stage. The reason was a low long-range shooting percentage (16%) and the lack of offensive leader. Vasily Karasev team continues to move the ball well, but low shooting efficiency keeps the team from winning. The Moscow team will have a chance to find their game. Uralmash has shown poor defense against combination teams this season and allowed Enisey and CSKA to score 88 points. If MBA solves the shooting problems, the team will be able to put up a fight against an unstable opponent.
PARMA (Perm) vs Samara (Samara)
Time: 18:00 (16:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Perm, UDS Molot
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
PARMA: The Perm team has the best active winning streak in the League. The win over MINSK secured the team a spot in the Top 6, but the game with Samara is still important. A win will help Evgeny Pashutin team to get the 5th place. PARMA will need to shut down their opponents’ shooters and continue to take advantage in offense with B.J. Johnson and Isaiah Reese help. The American duo is averaging 36 points and making PARMA’s offense one of the best in the League.
Samara: Drazen Anzulovic team has dropped out of Top 6 and will have to earn the Playoffs spot in the second stage. Samara varied offense has struggled in recent games: Loko and Astana have outscored Samara in two-point shooting. The Volga team has already been able to handle their future opponent this season with Mikhail Kulagin 23 points and good defense against B.J. Johnson, who was only able to score 15 points. In order to repeat such success, the team needs to solve the problem with unstable play in the paint and once again stop the Perm team leaders.
