Zenit and Astana fighting over 5th place, Enisey hosts Avtodor and other games.
Saturday, April 27
Zenit Russia – Astana Kazakhstan
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 MSK)
Place: SIBUR Arena, St. Petersburg, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Zenit: 5th place will be decided between St. Petersburg and Nur-Sultan on Saturday. The stakes for Zenit, though, are much higher in this game. If the home team loses, they not only miss out on 5th, but plummet all the way to 7th, behind Kalev. In order to finish in 5th place, Zenit needs to win by at least two points in order to pick up the tiebreaker vs. Astana. The Russians do welcome back star Jalen Reynolds, who missed the previous two games due to a suspension.
Astana: The Kazakhs are set on making history and finishing in the top five for the first time ever. As noted earlier, the Kazakhs could even lose, but by no more than one point, and still take 5th. Of course, Emil Rajkovic and co. have no plans for a setback of any kind, even if it doesn’t affect the outcome. The visitors won’t have it easy, last winning in St. Petersburg four years ago, in April 2015.
Sunday, April 28
Enisey Russia – Avtodor Russia
Time: 7:00 PM (3:00 MSK)
Place: Arena.Sever, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Enisey: The final day of the regular season opens with a game between two teams that were in the playoff hunt until just a few weeks back. Their trajectories, however, could not be more different at present. Enisey found its stride down the stretch, though it came a little too late. Oleg Okulov’s men have won four of their last five, highlighted by a road win in Khimki earlier this week. D’Angelo Harrison was the star in the upset, rolling to 34 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Avtodor’s defense will be tested by the unstoppable guard.
Avtodor: Saratov’s season, meanwhile, went south quickly, as the Russians dropped six of their last seven. The goal on Sunday is to at least finish on a winning note and get to 10 wins for the year. The stats seemingly favor Avtodor, which has defeated Enisey in seven of nine meetings. Saratov also came out on top earlier this year, cruising past the Siberians, led by then-coach Sergei Mokin (Avtodor was the first team to score 100 points this season in that victory). But the situation has changed significantly since then and now the Siberians will be clear favorites. Enisey’s primary challenge will be shutting down the paint. David Kravish dominated in the paint in the first meeting to give Saratov a win.
Nizhny Novgorod Russia – Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus
Time: 3:00 PM (3:00 MSK)
Place: KRK Nagorny, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Nizhny Novgorod: An unending string of injuries dented Nizhny’s finish to the season. Seemingly assured of at least 7th place, Nizhny was derailed in recent weeks by Kalev and is now locked into 8th place, which means a meeting with CSKA in the quarterfinals. Despite several defeats, Nizhny remains competitive, including close games vs. Khimki and CSKA. But the lack of depth has had an impact. But Sunday’s opponent isn’t any deeper, which means the Volga club will be favored. Expect Zoran Lukic to take the game seriously as the final warm-up before the playoffs.
Tsmoki-Minsk: The Belarusians are currently in last place, but they can still sneak out of the cellar. Two things need to happen: Tsmoki has to take down Nizhny Novgorod and Khimki has to beat PARMA at home. It’s certainly possible and the Dragons will do everything they can to hold up their end of the bargain. Weakened by injuries, Nizhny’s defense has given up at least 85 points in each of its last five games. But Minsk is hardly an offensive juggernaut, ranking 13th in the League in average scoring, just ahead of VEF (75.6 vs. 75.5 points per game).
Zielona Gora Poland – UNICS Russia
Time: 2:00 PM (3:00 MSK)
Place: CRS Hala Zielona Gora, Zielona Gora, Poland
TV: VTB-League.com
Zielona Gora: Despite playing at home, Zielona Gora will be favored only if UNICS decides to rest its starters ahead of the playoffs and brings a back-up squad to Poland. The Poles are fighting for a chance to pass PARMA and finish 12th. Even with a loss, Zielona Gora could still take 12th place as long as PARMA also loses.
UNICS: Even though Kazan was unable to sneak past CSKA into 1st place, the Tatar club did take care of 2nd, keeping Khimki in 3rd. This will be more of a test run for UNICS than anything else. Despite ultimately blowing out Zielona Gora in the first meeting, the Poles hung close until UNICS went on a 14-0 run in the 3rd quarter after leading by only four at halftime.
Time: 3:00 PM (3:00 MSK)
Place: BCMO, Khimki, Russia
TV: Match! Strana, VTB-League.com
Khimki: An unexpected loss to Enisey put a damper on Khimki, snapping a five-game winning streak and eliminating the team’s chances of finishing in 2nd place. With 3rd place guaranteed, Sunday’s game is a final chance to prepare for the playoffs. Rimas Kurtinaitis and co. will already know their first-round opponent by tip-off, either Zenit, Kalev or Astana.
PARMA: Perm could finish anywhere between 12th and 14th place, depending on Sunday’s results. In order to avoid a disappointing result, PARMA needs to pull off a mini-miracle. The Ural club nearly took down Khimki in their first meeting, but the Yellow and Blue were also playing without Alexey Shved and Anthony Gill. After Khimki’s loss to Enisey, the home team will be in no mood to suffer another upset.
VEF Latvia – Lokomotiv-Kuban Russia
Time: 3:00 PM (3:00 MSK)
Place: Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia
TV: VTB-League.com
VEF: Riga’s last victory over Lokomotiv came in the spring of 2015. VEF can stay in the top-10 under two scenarios, one by taking down Loko (regardless of other outcomes), two if Avtodor loses to Enisey. Lokomotiv head coach Bob Donewald admitted he expects a serious test on Sunday, though VEF has yet to beat a single top-four team this season.
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Regardless of the outcome of this game, Krasnodar will play either Astana or Zenit in the first round. Loko began its mini-Baltic tour last week with a loss to Kalev, but it came with an inexperienced roster as Donewald decided to try out some of his younger players (starters Dmitry Kulagin, Moustapha Fall and Mateusz Ponitka all sat). The outcome in Riga will likely depend on whether Kuban’s coach decides to experiment even more or go at full strength.
