On Sunday, Astana, Saratov and Kazan will host the United League regular season games.
Astana (Astana) – MBA (Moscow)
Time: 12:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Kazakhstan, Astana, Saryarka
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Astana: The Kazakh team did not have a very successful game in Saratov, largely due to American legionnaires absence. Now Astana will play at home and in full strength, which increases its chances of winning. At the same time, the team from Kazakhstan capital needs to improve their actions both in defense and in offense. It will be interesting to follow the Russian guard Daniil Aksenov – in Saratov he played his debut game in the League, scoring 21 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
MBA: The newcomer of the League in his debut game pleasantly surprised by defeating Lokomotiv Kuban on the road. At the same time, MBA had 3 leaders at once – Andrey Lopatin, Evgeny Valiev and Ilya Platonov scored a total of 49 points. Vasily Karasev’s team has a fairly long roster, so no one will be surprised if other players will make a show. Considering how Astana played with Avtodor, MBA is going to its second game in the United League in the status of the favorite.
Avtodor – Pari Nizhny Novgorod
Time: 17:00 (16:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, LDS Kristall
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Avtodor: Despite the change of coach just before the start of the season, Saratov started the season with a convincing win over Astana. Avtodor played smoothly, defended very competently and acted effectively in offense, almost reaching a 100. But the game with Pari NN will be much more difficult: Nizhny Novgorod residents are higher, they have better protection and much more experience than Astana . A lot will depend on Ryan Boatwright’s game – the point guard knows how to score points, finds partners with assists and can even compete for selection.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: After Astapkovich and Toropov departure, NN needed a new leader, and Jermaine Love became them in the first game of the team in Krasnoyarsk. Pari Nizhny Novgorod beat Enisey not only because of Love, but the guard was definitely the main player of the game: 26 points with 53%, 7 assists. But in addition to the Love, Zoran Lukic has a few more players in the team, which may well come in the game in Saratov. In particular, Pari NN has a powerful front line with Maxim Salash, Nikola Jovanovic and Dragan Apic.
UNICS (Kazan) – Enisey (Krasnoyarsk)
Time: 18:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Kazan, Basket Hall
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
UNICS:The Kazan team won their opening game in St. Petersburg and comes to the game with Enisey as an unconditional favourite. UNICS had a week to rest, recover and prepare for the game. Therefore, the most important problem of Velimir Perasovich’s wards may be the underestimation of Enisey, and the task of the Croatian coach is to prevent the relaxed state of the team.
Enisey: UNICS looks like the favorite in the game against Enisey, but the Krasnoyarsk team has assembled a combat-ready squad that can surprise. Firstly, a year ago at the start of the season, Perasovic’s team was not in the best shape. Now there are 11 newcomers in UNICS, and the Croatian coach needs to do all the work from scratch. Secondly, Drazen Anzulovic has already enjoyed the lack of play of top rivals before – what is the win over CSKA in Krasnoyarsk worth.
