Krasnoyarsk and Moscow will host 2 regular season games on Wednesday.
Enisey (Krasnoyarsk, Russia) vs Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar, Russia)
Time: 19:30 (15:30 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnoyarsk, Arena Sever
Broadcast: Match! Irga, TV Start, League website
Enisey: Last round, the Siberian team made one of the most brilliant performances of the early part of the regular season – in a crazy tense game against Avtodor, Xavier Rathan-Mayes had a shootout with Kyle Vinales, scored 38 points and hit the winning three-pointer with three seconds left. The second win in a row allowed the Krasnoyarsk team to not only climb out of the bottom of the standings, but also into the Top 8. Interestingly, the Siberian team finally got their long-range shooting going: Enisey ranked last in the League, but in the game against Avtodor, Jovica Arsic team made 15 of 29 three-pointers. Most of them were made by Rathan-Mayes, but Beau Beech and Andrey Toptunov were also very accurate. If Enisey can maintain this level of play against Loko, their opponents will have a tough time – their offence still leaves a lot to be desired.
Lokomotiv Kuban: The Krasnodar team can’t seem to gain any momentum. Last year’s finalist got its third loss in four games. Loko had a chance to win against Uralmash, but in the end, Loko missed four consecutive three-pointers, which Uralmash did not forgive. But the Krasnodar team has reasons for optimism. Andrey Martiuk, who also had a bad start to the season, had his best game so far – 12 points and 6 rebounds in 12 minutes. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is close to returning. The last time Loko lost to Enisey in 2019, when the club was coached by Evgeniy Pashutin.
Runa (Moscow, Russia) vs PARMA (Perm, Russia)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Dynamo Sports Palace.
Broadcast: Match! Igra, TV Start, League website
Runa: The League newcomer suffered their first loss of the season. Until the final seconds of the game against Nizhny, the Vikings could have hoped for an extension of their winning streak to four games – Kirill Savin missed his shot for the win. Despite this, Runa is still in the top four, repeating last year’s MBA path, and is clearly setting themselves up for the Playoffs. After the game with Nizhny Novgorod, Erturul Erdogan pointed out that the most important thing is the things they missed on defence. That’s certainly true, but Runa was also obviously lost Cameron Young, who missed the game.
PARMA: Despite a very difficult schedule, PARMA is playing quite confidently: the Perm team beat Loko and were one step away from a sensation losing to CSKA by just one point. Only the game against Nizhny was clearly unsuccessful – primarily offensively. But in the game against the Army team, B.J. Johnson scored 33 points against one of the most skilled defences in the League. If PARMA forward can form the dangerous offensive C.J. and B.J. duo, PARMA offense may reach a new level. After the game against Nizhny, Evgeniy Pashutin said the team didn’t show aggression, and wasn’t ready mentally. The game with CSKA showed that PARMA fighting spirit has returned, so the Vikings need to be ready for a very difficult game.
