A regular season game will be played on Thursday.
Thursday, March 12
Kalev – Lokomotiv-Kuban
Time: 19:00 (20:00 MSK)
Venue: Kalevi Spordihall, Tallinn, Estonia
Broadcast: League site
Kalev: Last week, the Tallinners outplayed Astana on the road – for the second time in 9 years-history – which stopped their 3-games losing streak. Thanks to this win, they climbed to Top 8. Lokomotiv is the last Top four rival for Kalev this regular season as the rest of the games are direct playoffs competitors. In terms of stats, Loko beat Kalev everywhere, especiaaly in rebounds (Loko ranked 1st, while Kalev are only 11th). On the other hand, last week, Nizhny showed how one can beat Loko even with double-digit rebounds difference. The matter that really should bother Kalev’s coaching staff is the offence. Loko allowed 77 points only from top scoring team like CSKA. Meanwhile, Kalev remain the worst attacking and efficient team of the League with 76.6 points per game.
Lokomotiv-Kuban: After 8-game winning streak, Loko suffer 2 losses in a row already with one of them coming from direct competitor. As a result, Evgeny Pashutin’s team is not only 2 wins away from CSKA, but even let UNICS get too close. Technically, this Saturday, Kazan can level with Loko in number of victories. Therefore, Kalev is one of the most important games in Loko’s regular season. Even playing away, Kuban are favored to win the game. Kalev have downed Loko only twice (both last season). This year, Loko made amends outplaying Kalev with 24-point difference.
