Moscow and Perm will host 2 regular season games on Wednesday.
MBA-MAI (Moscow) vs CSKA (Moscow)
Time: 19:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Basket Hall Moscow
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
MBA-MAI: The loss to PARMA was the second consecutive for the team and dropped to 11th place in the standings. Vasily Karasev team lack stability – in recent games MBA-MAI has troubles in the second half, which has been the reason for the losses. A game with CSKA, one of the best offensive teams of the season, will be a test of strength for MBA-MAI. To pass it, the team will need to offensive veriation and Andrey Zubkov and Danil Pevnev duo, who will face off in the paint against CSKA bigmen.
CSKA: Tight win over Loko and Pari NN allowed Andreas Pistiolis team to top the standings. CSKA is in optimal shape for the Moscow Derby – the team is in the Top 3 in scoring and rebounding, all team leaders are healthy, and Aleksa Avramovic won the MVP of October award.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar) vs PARMA (Perm Region)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Broadcast: Match! Strana, Start Triumph, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: Loko couldn’t extend 9-game winning streak, losing to CSKA and Zenit in endings. Now the Krasnodar team will begin the chase for the top spot with a clash against PARMA. Loko is better in rebounding, assists and offensive efficiency. In addition, Andrei Vedischev team will have the home court advantage. It will be especially important for the Perm team, who hasn’t scored more than 63 points in road games this season. The game will be especially important for B.J. Johnson, who was the leader of the Perm team last season.
PARMA: Road win over MBA-MAI allowed the Perm team to settle in the middle of the standings and get a chance to catch up Nizhny. But to do so, the Perm team need to beat Loko. An important aspect of the upcoming clash will be the rebounding – PARMA will face the League’s best rebounding team. Aleksandr Shashkov has returned from injury and will be able to help Royce Hamm in the paint. The trip to Krasnodar is going to be a tough one, but Evgeny Pashutin team was able to defeat the Krasnodar team in Basket Hall a year ago, so PARMA us capable of putting up a fight this time around.
