Perm, Samara and Minsk will host the VTB League regular season games on Monday.
PARMA-PARI (Perm) – MBA (Moscow)
Time: 19:30 (17:30 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Perm, UDS Molot
Broadcast: TV Start Triumph, League website
PARMA-PARI: The Perm team expectations from the start of the season hardly coincided with reality. The debut game in Minsk instilled confidence in the team capabilities, but then 3 losses in a row. The injuries of two newcomers Bryon Allen and Tylor Ongwae also added to the negativity. However, PARMA-PARI had enough time to prepare for the game with MBA and the plus is that the team has not left their hometown for more than a week. EvgenIy Pashutin team need to be prepared for constant pressure and even more attentive to perimeter defense: MBA is the leader of the season in the three–point percentage (44.3%).
MBA: Loss against CSKA cooled the League newcomers rhythm. Nevertheless, the Moscow team are in the Top-4, team combinations are already at a high level as offensive game: MBA, scoring an average of 87.0 points, keeps in the Top-3 of the most scoring teams of the League. MVA outperform th Perm team in many key stats – shots made percentage, rebounds, assists – but you should not underestimate PARMA-PARI, especially playing at home.
Samara (Samara) – Zenit (Saint Petersburg)
Time: 19:00 (18:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SKK Dvorets Sporta
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Samara: During the first two weeks, the newcomer team has been progressing in different game aspects. For example, Samara began to value the ball more, and if Sergey Bazarevich team made 28 turnovers against Loko, then only 9 against Pari NN. Zenit will be a good test for the Volga Region team and will show the coaching staff what the team will need to work on especially hard. Knight-Ennis duo will probably act as leaders again, who helped Samara to win its two games in the VTB League.
Zenit: However, the St. Petersburg team has already recovered after a difficult start. The wins against Avtodor and Enisey was huge, the playing time was evenly distributed between the starting-5 and role players and this allowed the leaders to approach the game with Samara with more strength. In the game with the Krasnoyarsk team Zenit lost Artem Klimenko and Andrey Zubkov, but at the same time the reigning champion announced the return of Sergey Monya – for the forward it will be the 13th season in the VTB League. True, the 39-year-old St. Petersburg team veteran has not yet been added to the roster, but even without him they will come to Samara as favorite. Zenit understands that it is impossible to lose to the Volga Region team, because in this case the gap between the leaders will be 2 wins.
MINSK (Minsk) – Enisey (Krasnoyarsk)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Belarus, Minsk, Falcon Club Arena
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
MINSK: In the summer, the Belarusian team made a bet on local players development – there is only Zach Smith in the squad. But so far MINSK is not impressive: in all four games of the season, the team lost, while only with MBA the difference was less than 20 points. But there are also pleasant moments. Guard Uladislau Bliznyuk is Top-3 in assists in the League with 7.5 assists per game, while Smith (9.0) and Darol Hernandez-Zinenko (8.5) lead the League in rebounds, while the American bigman is also the third in blocks (1.3). Playing with Enisey at home is a good opportunity to win the first game, but you will only be able to achieve this with maximum motivation and desire on the court.
Enisey: The Krasnoyarsk team have no less desire to win. Enisey almost won 2 times, but eventually lost in overtime to Pari NN and Samara. The Siberian team had a good squad with a lot of talent, but in a game with seemingly equal opponents, Drazen Anzulovic team lacked luck and character. The game in the capital of Belarus will certainly be crucial for twoEnisey players, Yauheni beliankou and Angelo Warner – both played for MINSK in the past.
