On Thursday, 3 VTB League games will be in Astana, Nizhny Novgorod and Krasnodar.
Astana (Astana) – PARMA-PARI (Perm)
Time: 20:00 (17:00 Moscow time)
Place: Kazakhstan, Astana, Saryarka
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Astana: After an fail trip to Saratov, the game at home with MBA was much better for the Kazakh team. And yet, Astana lacks stability: if in the first half the team played on equal with the Moscow rival, then after a halftime Astana lost concentration in defense. Michael Myers proved well – the center consistently scored and got rebounds. But in order to beat the strong PARMA-PARI, it will take the efforts of the whole team.
PARMA-PARI: Unexpectedly, the Perm team started the season in a defensive style: first, the team let MINSK score 48 points, then allowed Zenit to score only 65. PARMA-PARI was worthy to win the champion, but lack of teamwork and confidence in the end. At the same time, PARMA know how to play bright, especially when Malik Dime – he leads the Leauge in dunks and blocks. PARMA-PARI is going to the capital of Kazakhstan as a favorite, and the coaching staff needs to make sure that their players do not underestimate the opponent.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod) – UNICS (Kazan)
Time: 19:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, KRK Nagorniy
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: The season for the Volga team began not very great. At first, Nizhny Novgorod won Enisey in the second overtime, and then almost lost a 14-point comeback from Avtodor, winning only by 2 in Saratov. On the other hand, the ability to play tense endings will only benefit Pari NN, especially when your opponent is UNICS. «Frankly speaking, at the moment UNICS looks better than us. Let’s see if this will be enough to take the victory on our court», head coach Zoran Lukic expressed respect for the opponent, but hinted that his team would not give up before the end.
UNICS: The Kazan team are really looking very powerful at the moment: they beat Zenit away, left no chance to Enisey at home – and this is with the injured leader Daryl Macon. Coach Perasovic, who has been working for the second year, does not rely solely on foreign players, but let Russian players to play as well. In particular, Georgiy Zhbanov looks good, going third in rebounds and fourth in steals in the team. It will be interesting to see how the guard will play against his former team – Zhbanov spent 4 seasons in Pari NN.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar) – CSKA (Moscow)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Broadcast: TV Start Triumph, Match! Igra, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: The Krasnodar team have already won in the new season – the team beat Samara. But Loko needs to add if the team intends to compete for the highest places this season. Yes, Jaylen Barford looks incredibly effective on the court – the guard scores 26.0 points at the start of the season. But teams like CSKA are able to close down the rivals leaders and in this case a lot will depend on how Loko youth will play: Martiuk, Shcherbenev and Emchenko. It is important for the Krasnodar team that the players control with the pressure and fulfill all the coaching instructions. Loko advantage is that the team has not left their hometown since the beginning of the season, while their opponent has already managed to fly to Samara and return to the capital, then to make a long way south.
CSKA: In the first week of the season, the Army team had no visible problems. Samara is not yet ready for opponents of this level and CSKA traditionally play well with Minsk. CSKA is going to Krasnodar as the main contender. The team was slightly inconvenienced by road to Krasnodar, which took more than 12 hours. Nevertheless, CSKA will try to impose its own style of play, playing a very tight defense that knows how to punish for every mistake.
