Moscow, Saratov and Krasnodar will host 3 regular season games on Saturday.
MBA-MAI (Moscow) vs UNICS (Kazan)
Time: 14:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Basket Hall Moscow
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
MBA-MAI: Vasily Karasev team is having the best month of the season – the team got 3 wins over their direct rivals in the standings, losing only to CSKA. Now the Moscow team will have one more test against UNICS. In the first half of the regular season, MBA-MAI lost twice to the Kazan team, but has improved situation in defense with allowing opponents to score more than 80 points only once in January. Focus on defence and home crowd support could help the Moscow team stop UNICS.
UNICS: Last week, UNICS confidently defeated Astana (104:57) and Samara (94:59) at home, extending winning streak to 11 games. A win over MBA-MAI will allow the Kazan team to repeat the season-high, which belongs to Zenit so far. And Velimir Perasovic team has plenty of ways to do that. UNICS leads the League in rebounding, assists, and steals, and also show a much higher efficiency than the Moscow team.
Avtodor (Saratov) vs PARMA (Perm Region)
Time: 16:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS “Kristall”
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Avtodor: After several clashes with Top 5 teams, Avtodor has 3-game losing streak. Milenko Bogicevic team will have to create a gap again against Enisey and MBA-MAI, as well as continue to pursuit PARMA and Pari Nizhny Novgorod. The Volga team has defeated both previous games versus the Perm team and Avtodor will play at home, which will add the confidence. The Saratov team will definitely have a chance to repeat the result against the struggling Perm team.
PARMA: After the win over Enisey (77:74), Evgeny Pashutin team first lost to MBA-MAI on the road (76:91) and then to Khimki in the Russian Cup quarterfinal. Now the team aims to get back as soon as possible. The clash in Saratov will be not only a chance to start winning again, but also to take revenge for the last 2 lost games. PARMA is close to equal to Avtodor in most defensive team stats, but the Perm team have a much higher percentage of long-range shots (35.7% vs. 32.2%). This aspect could be the key to the Saratov team defense.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar) vs. Enisey (Krasnoyarsk Region)
Time: 16:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket-Hall
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: The Krasnodar team is back from a 3-game road tour with 3 wins and is now preparing for a home series. First will be Enisey, who did not let Loko to win easily. The Siberian team has been much better defensively in January, but Lokomotiv offense is now at its peak with an average of 106 points in the last 3 games. If the Krasnodar team can maintain this level of offensive play, Loko will have a good chance to pick up their fourth straight win. Aleksandr Gudumak will be especially motivated as he played for the Krasnoyarsk team for 5 seasons.
Enisey: The road win over Astana (78:63) helped the Siberian team get back a positive winning record in January and got closer to Avtodor. The Krasnoyarsk team needs to beat Loko to continue to improve the standings. Enisey is worse in performance and offensive variation, but will try to make it up with rebounds and defense. In Andrei Martyuk absence, Sergey Dolinin and Roman Zagretdinov will be able to provide the team with a rebounding advantage, which will help the guests put up a fight against Loko.
