Khimki and St. Petersburg meet in a battle for 2nd place and home-court advantage through the playoff semifinals.
Where:
BCMO (capacity 4,000), Khimki, Russia
When:
5:00 PM (5:00 MSK), April 9, 2017
TV:
VTB-League.com, Match! Nash Sport
Intrigue
Khimki and Zenit have been locked in a battle for 2nd place for several months. Now it’s time to decide who gets pole position entering the final lap of the regular season. Regardless of who wins, these two teams could very well meet in the playoff semifinals, where having the home-court advantage could make all the difference.
Even with a loss in Moscow Region, Zenit has a very good chance of finishing in the top-3. Khimki, on the other hand, could face a challenge from Lokomotiv-Kuban, who would love to escape the four-seed and a potential meeting with CSKA in the semifinals.
Face to Face
Khimki and Zenit played six times in St. Petersburg’s debut 2014-15 campaign, four time in the EuroCup and twice in the VTB United League. The opponents traded home wins in the VTB United League regular season and group stage of the EuroCup, before Khimki went on to sweep Zenit in the round of 16 and ultimately lift the trophy.
Last season, Khimki beat Zenit twice in the regular season. St. Petersburg got revenge earlier this year, taking down Moscow Region 114-110 in a wild shootout. Overall, Khimki holds a 3-2 lead in League matchups.
Looking Back
Doing the Math
Zenit can clinch 2nd place with a win. If Khimki wins by fewer than four points, Zenit would need to beat Avtodor at home and Kalev on the road to guarantee 2nd place. On the other hand, if Khimki wins by five or more points, Moscow Region takes over 2nd place and can clinch with victories in Astana and Krasnoyarsk. If Khimki wins by four, then the overall point differential will decide the tiebreaker. Zenit currently enjoys a +235 margin, while Khimki sits at +178.
X-Factor
Information circulated this week that Khimki planned to replace head coach Dusko Ivanovic with Russian national team boss Sergei Bazarevich at the end of the season. Khimki general director Pavel Astakhov denied any such plans, but even a rumor about possible changes at the top can’t have had a positive impact on the team’s morale heading into one of the biggest games of the season.
Duel
Alexey Shved vs. Sergey Karasev.
With so much on the line, it will be fascinating to see how the League’s top two Russian stars respond. Shved was named the EuroCup MVP in March and leads the VTB United League scoring (22.6 ppg). Karasev is 6th with 16.3 ppg, but put up 26 against UNICS and 23 against Loko in recent victories. He probably hasn’t forgot about his first meeting with Khimki this season, either, when he dropped 35 points on Shved and co. behind 12-17 shooting.
Quotes
Khimki head coach Dusko Ivanovic:
– We’ve got to play, perhaps, the biggest game of the season, given it’s a battle for 2nd place in the VTB League. Zenit is playing great, up-tempo basketball this season. The players are shooting very well on two-point and three-point attempts. They do a good job in transition. They might even be the best in the League in that category. Our opponent has a lot of experienced players, who do an excellent job of reading the game and play smart on defense. For those reasons, Zenit is in 2nd place right now in the standings. Our first challenge will be to slow down their offense as well as play better defense than we did in St. Petersburg the first time around. Markel Brown is still out, but everyone else is healthy.
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
– Khimki plays well at home, especially if everyone is healthy. When Alexey Shved is missing, it’s a completely different team. In the first meeting in St. Petersburg, they didn’t have a great game. I think all their players will be better in time for the game, so we are preparing for a serious contest. Everyone understands that we’re battling for 2nd place. We expect it to be a physical, hard-fought game. Of course, we’ll need to work on some things, but the game at home showed we took the right strategy. We’ll need to execute a little better on offense, but we aren’t going to make any major changes.
