Perm, Samara and Moscow will host the regular season games on Thursday.
PARMA-PARI (Perm) – Enisey (Krasnoyarsk)
Time: 19:00 (17:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Perm, UDS Molot
Broadcast: TV Start Triumph, League website
PARMA-PARI: The Perm team did not get into the Top 6, but continue to fight for the playoffs. And the game with Enisey looks especially rival: Evgeny Pashutin team needs to defeat direct competitors at home to continue the season in spring. In the first face-to-face-game, PARMA-PARI won at the very end, and Bryon Allen scored the winning shot. Allen is no longer in the team, but Isaiah Reese came. Reese has noticeably refreshed the Perm team offense, but in the last 4 games, PARMA let opponents score 87.3 points on average.
Enisey: The Krasnoyarsk team started 2023 with 2 wins in 3 games. Enisey noticeably improved the game and began to play better in the end of the game. Angelo Warner and Timofei Gerasimov in the new year score 34 points per game combined. At the same time, Supreme Hannah, who previously played in MINSK, joined the team. Orlando Coleman also returned after an illness. The game in Perm is incredibly important for Drazen Anzulovic team – after all, the Siberian team would equalise with Avtodor and come closer to the playoff zone.
Samara (Samara) – MINSK (Minsk)
Time: 19:00 (18:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SCC Dvorets Sporta
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Samara: A short New Year’s break helped the Volga team to reboot, Isaiah Reese and Philip Gafurov absence only benefited the team. This is confirmed by the results: with the wins over Astana and Avtodor, the League newcomer has the 7th place in the standings. Samara will be the favorite in the game with Minsk, especially with their previous game in the capital of Belarus. Then Rivers-Knight duo scored 35 points, and the Volga team won quite confidently. Since then, Samara has changed noticeably and the coaching staff trusts the bench players more and more. For example, in a recent game with UNICS, Maksim Sheleketo became one of the best scoring with 16 points.
MINSK: The Belarusian team has less and less chance of getting into the playoffs. And in order to remain competitive, it is very important for MINSK to win in Samara. The game in Krasnodar against Loko showed that Rostislav Vergun team can play with rivals equally. Supreme Hannah left and Uladzislau Blizniuk tried on the role of a main playmaker again, and Zach Smith continues to make spectacular dunks. It is important for the Minsk team to stop Samara offense and win rebounds – in this case they will be able to win.
MBA (Moscow) – Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod)
Time: 20:00 (20:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Basket Hall Moscow
Broadcast: TV Start, Match! Igra, League website
MBA: The Moscow team is the main newsmaker of the previous round. In the game with Zenit, the League newcomer managed make a 20-point comeback and win in overtime – without 5 players at once. MBA roster situation is really difficult, besides, the Moscow team had only 2 days to prepare for the game against Nizhny Novgorod. But there is also good news for the team’s fans: the day before the game with Pari NN, MBA announced Daniil Aksenov signing. The 27-year-old guard started the season in Astana as high-quality point guard, who at the same time is able to create a moment for himself.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhny Novgorod has guaranteed the 5th place after the first stage of the regular season. But the game in Moscow has a special significance – if the team will lose, it will be much more difficult to catch up MBA. But with the win on Thursday, Pari NN needs to beat MBA with 8-point difference or more. The game in Nizhny Novgorod in October ended in overtime with the win of the guests, and game in Moscow will be exciting: 2 extremely motivated teams with powerful defense. Nizhny Novgorod, who made 20 turnovers in the previous game with MBA, just need to control the ball and not give the opponents to score easy points.
