Lokomotiv Kuban will host Zenit in the Game of the Week on Sunday.
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Time: November 3, 2024, 15:00 (Moscow time)
Broadcast: Match TV, Start Triumph, League website
Rivalry
Lokomotiv Kuban and Zenit will play in Krasnodar, nearly a month after the first game in St. Petersburg. That game was a mix, with both teams having to comeback.
In the fourth quarter, the St. Petersburg team looked better, but Andrei Vedischev team made three-pointers at the right time and Cleveland Antonius shined in the clutch. In 1.5 miutle left, Loko player scored 8 points and helped his team to win – 83:76.
Last season, the rivals played in the 3rd Place series. The St. Petersburg team won 3-1.
The teams have faced each other a total of 37 times, and win at Sibur Arena will allow the Krasnodar team to shift the balance and take a lead – 19:18.
Last year’s regular season rivalry ended with a tie – 2:2. Lokomotiv Kuban won twice at the first stage, but then lost in February and April.
Motivation
Lokomotiv Kuban (9-1) had the first loss of the season against CSKA. After starting the season with 9 straight wins, the team hardly want to start athe losing streak now. The the Krasnodar team will do everything to get back on the winning track, especially at home.
Zenit (8-2) didn’t start as strong as its opponent, but is gradually improving and picking up important wins. Of course, the St. Petersburg team is determined to take revenge for the loss month ago. The team lost to CSKA in addition to Loko in the new season. So win in the Game of the Week would be a good boost for further success in the regular season.
Rebounding
Whoever wins the rebounds wins the game. Lokomotiv confirmed this unwritten basketball rule in the teams’ October game. This factor (49-35) was one of the key in the Krasnodar team win. The St. Petersburg team will surely emphasize to moderate the activity and aggression of Isaiah Whaley (10 rebounds in the first game) and Andrei Martiuk (9) in the paint.
It won’t be easy: Loko ranks 1st in rebounding (39.7). Zenit is the 6th with a 36.6 per game.
Schedule
After the road trip, Zenit played at home for the first time in 17 days on Wednesday defeating Samara. 3 days later, Xavier Pascual team will have road game again.
After Sunday game against CSKA in Moscow, Loko had a full week to prepare for another top clash.
Duel
Patrick Miller vs Xavier Moon.
Miller and Moon are the leaders of the teams. Patrick leads Loko in points (15.0), assists (5.6) and is 2nd in steals (1.8).
Moon is in about the same situation: 1st in assists (5.2), 2nd in scoring (14.2), even in rebounds (4.9) and steals (1.2).
The guards are among the Top 5 of the season in efficiency – 21.4 for Moon (4th) and 21.1 for Miller (5th). Both were in last Team of the Week.
Miller and Moon are in great shape and will largely determine Loko and Zenit performance at the start of the season. This can be confirmed at the Game of the Week.
Coming back
In late October, Sergey Karasev returned to the lineup after injury, which he got at the SuperCup. The captain scored 10 points and 3 rebounds versus Astana, and he was already in the starting lineup with 5 points and 2 assists against Samara. After getting some time to warm up, the forward should be in good shape.
Key figure
Kirill Temirov was second on the Krasnodar team in scoring (14 points) and efficiency (17 points) against CSKA, and shared the lead in steals (3) with Antonius Cleveland.
The 22-year-old forward is not going to stop on his achievements:
– The game was interesting, but the score is unfortunate. Such loses are not that upsetting, rather only motivate us to correct our mistakes. So we will continue to work. There are still a lot of games ahead.
Numbers
Like a month ago, Loko (90.9) and Zenit (89.6) are the best scoring teams of the season.
According to the results of the first 6 weeks of the season, Lokomotiv Kuban players was in teh Team of the Week 7 times and got to Top 10 moments 11 times.
Zenit leads the season in free-throws made percentage (81.3%) and had less turnovers (11.0).
