4 regular season games will be on Sunday.
Enisey (Krasnoyarsk, Russia) vs Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia)
Time: 17:00 (13:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnoyarsk, Arena Sever
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Enisey: After a poor start, the Siberian team are among the hottest teams in the League with a three-game winning streak. Another performance by Xavier Rathan-Mays, who recently set a season high with 38 points, helped Enisey beat Lokomotiv Kuban. Even with all Loko problems, this is a major accomplishment. Rathan-Mayes has only once scored less than 20 points this season (against CSKA), so Enisey fans have every right to expect another scoring performance from him.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhny took a loss against Astana. Despite Glenn Cosey and Evgenii Baburin efforts, a very poor three-point shooting percentage prevented Zoran Lukic team from continuing to be on the top of the standings. This was the Volga team first game at home – their three-game winning streak was completely on the road. 25.9% three-point shooting is Nizhny anti-record this season, and it’s unlikely that Enisey should bet that Cosey, Vorontsevich and Allen will again made 2 of 19 long-range shots. Whether Pari NN can extend its road win streak is one of the main intrigues of Sunday’s round.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar, Russia) vs. Zenit (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Time: 14:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Broadcast: Match TV, Start Triumph, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: The chronicles of the declining Loko continue – the upset against Enisey was the fourth in five games for the Krasnodar team, and the team has a challenging schedule. The first obstacle will be Zenit, which has already beat the team this fall – in the SuperCup final in September. But the win was not easy for Zenit, even though Loko did not have Jaylen Barford and Zakhar Vedischev in their lineup. The important news is DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell should finally recover for the game against the St. Petersburg team. Of course, we shouldn’t expect him to has a decisive impact right away, but his presence will surely encourage Loko.
Zenit: Xavier Pascual team is gradually gaining momentum. Two wins in a row have allowed Zenit to climb to the top of the standings, and most importantly the players who are expected to lead the way finally showed up against MBA. Kyle Kuric scored 18 points after a poor performance against Astana, and Trent Frazier had an unforgettable performance (34 in 24 minutes – a career high for the American guard in Zenit). Of course, Loko will go with a double motivation – the Krasnodar team need not only to break their losing streak, but also to repay Zenit for their loss in the SuperCup. Still, the guests can be considered the favorites at the moment.
PARMA (Russia, Perm) vs MINSK (Belarus, Minsk)
Time: 17:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Palce: Russia, Perm, UDS Molot
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
PARMA: The Perm team has been frankly unlucky so far: the team has been playing hard and aggressive in all of their games – although Evgeny Pashutin is always complaining about their defense not being tough enough – but PARMA is losing in the final minutes (or even in the final seconds). The Perm team will have a good opportunity to break this streak at home on Sunday. UDS Molot has always been the best sixth player for the Perm team, and on top of that, they’re hosting a team that still can’t find its game.
MINSK: At the moment, MINSK remain the only team in the League with zero wins. The game with Samara, despite another loss, gave the Belarusian team fans reason for optimism: as it became clear from the games against Samara and Enisey, the Minsk team can give trouble to the tough mid-tier teams, even if they can’t compete with the top clubs yet. PARMA is a team of comparable class to Samara and Enisey, so the guests will surely try to get their first win of the season. Of course, all eyes will be on Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, who was unstoppable in the game against the Volga team: his 34 points are the third-highest scoring of the season.
Samara (Samara, Russia) vs. UNICS (Kazan, Russia)
Time: 18:00 (17:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SKK “Dvorets Sporta”.
Broadcast: Match! Igra, TV Start, League website
Samara: Although Samara starts a three-game home winning streak on Sunday, the Volga team has a tough schedule – they face Loko, CSKA and Nizhny in the next month, and that streak starts with a game against the reigning champion. Last season, Samara lost twice to UNICS, but now they look like a team capable of fighting even against such a team. However, Samara defensive problems can’t be ignored: last week they allowed to MINSK to score 78 points, who had never scored 65 points in a season before, and they didn’t figure out how to deal with Ogungbemi-Jackson until the end of the game. And UNICS has a lot more dangerous offensive players.
UNICS: The Kazan team continues to chase CSKA and should try to equalise in wins this weekend. The schedule for Velimir Perasovic team seems to be light – the team will face Samara, Avtodor and Astana before their super game versus Zenit, teams that are not yet title contenders. So far, the Kazan team is going through the season with frightening efficiency: only Loko has managed to avoid losses with 20 points or more, although they still lost badly. At the moment, UNICS is ahead in points scored and allowed points – the team has +93, while the second placed Pari NN has only +34.
