Perm, Samara and Nizhny Novgorod will host regular season games on Wednesday.
Time: 19:30 (17:30 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Perm, UDS Molot
Broadcast:Match! Igra, League website
PARMA: The Perm team was able to change the situation after only 3 wins in 10 games. PARMA caught the courage: 5 wins in a row and 6th place in the standings. The team has the 2nd longest winning streak in the League after CSKA with 7 straight. One of the teams will end the streak on Wednesday and the Perm team can surprise the Moscow team. Evgeny Pashutin team hasn’t scored a lot, but is the best in rebounding (37.4 rebounds on average) and focused on the play through the paint in offense (in Top 3 in two-pointers made), also succeeded in protecting the paint (in Top 5 in blocks).
CSKA: After the confident win against Zenit, the Army team hosted Avtodor and had no problems. CSKA won by 30 points, only 4 points away from the 3rd 100 in the last 4 games. The Moscow team high scoring results didn’t depend on 1 player: 6 players are averaging more than 9 points per game. CSKA has already faced PARMA this season. B.J. Johnson missed the buzzer, and the Army team won the closest game of the season (77:76).
Samara (Samara) vs MBA (Moscow)
Time: 16:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SKK Dvorets Sporta
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Samara: The win over MINSK allowed Samara to secure their place in the Top 7. With an equal balance of wins and losses (9-8), Samara shares a 6th place with PARMA, and every win is worth a gold. Drazen Anzulovic’s team will finish the 2023 on the road against the reigning champion UNICS, so a game with struggling MBA is a great chance to move closer to the Top 5.
MBA: The last time MBA won was over a month ago. A 5-game losing streak had already put pressure on the Moscow team fans, but few were prepared for the 45-point loss to Zenit. The team shooting percentage was low: after shooting 35%, 40% and 28% from the game (before the game with the St. Petersburg team), the Moscow team made 29% of their shots at home. Head coach Vasily Karasev admitted that it was embarrassing and he wanted to fall under the ground. Although there is no question of the resignation, as general manager Igor Kocharyan assures, changes are needed to save the season. If not roster changes, then basketball changes. The games against Samara and Runa will probably have a key impact on the team’s future performance in the season.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod) vs Runa (Moscow)
Time: 19:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, KRK Nagorniy
Broadcast: Match TV, League website
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: On December 1, Nizhny Novgorod ended the 9-game losing streak against MINSK, but failed to continue. Nizhny lost 3 games in a row, 2 of them with a 30 and 31 points’ diffrerence. The management hopes to solve the problems in the offense by signing Kasey Shepherd. The American already played for NN in the 2020/21 season and won the Champions League Playoff MVP – he averaged 20.5 points. Zoran Lukic team is at the bottom (4-12), but there are still chances to save the season with 3 straigt home games ahead (Runa, Enisey, UNICS).
Runa: The Moscow team road trip didn’t go according to plan. Runa lost to Samara and PARMA. Although it should be noted that Samara and Perm teams are on the move. The Moscow team has an opportunity to get back among the leaders – they will go on vacation after games with the teams from the bottom of the standings: Nizhny and MBA. Runa is still one win away from the Top 6 and has a good chance to end the 3-game road trip with a positivity.
Runa:
