Eight regular season games are scheduled for Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Thursday, April 5
PARMA Russia – Nizhny Novgorod Russia
Time: 7:30 PM (5:30 MSK)
Place: Molot Sports Palace, Perm, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
PARMA: For the six teams fighting over the final two playoff spots, every game is do or die. That includes PARMA, which needs a win vs. Nizhny Novgorod to remain in 7th place. But Perm has struggled in recent outings vs. fellow playoff hopefuls, winning only three of the last five games against teams ranked 8th-13th in the League.
Nizhny Novgorod: Zoran Lukic’s men suffered a disappointing setback in Riga, where the team’s offense was surprisingly the culprit. Despite scoring 90 points, stars Stevan Jelovac and Jake Odum did not have their best games. If they could have knocked down a few more shots, the outcome may have been different. Another subpar outing from Nizhny’s leaders could have more negative consequences vs. PARMA, which boasts explosive offense from its talented American contingent. Lukic, in fact, has referred to the upcoming showdown as the Game of the Year.
Time: 7:00 PM (6:00 MSK)
Place: Kristall Sports Palace, Saratov, Russia
TV: Match! Nash Sport, VTB-League.com
Avtodor: After a shocking loss to Kalev, Saratov responded by demolishing Zenit in St. Petersburg. UNICS is next and there’s plenty at stake for Avtodor in this one. Both coach Evgeny Pashutin and star forward Coty Clarke spent last season in Kazan.
UNICS: Clarke said in an interview that Avtodor would have roughly the same strategy for the UNICS game as it did vs. Zenit. Saratov wants to set the tone from the beginning. Kazan’s last opponent, CSKA Moscow, was successful blitzing the Tatar club in the opening quarter, storming to a 17-3 lead and ultimately the win. Dimitris Priftis’ men need to prove they are more prepared the second time around.
Saturday, April 7
Zenit Russia – Lokomotiv-Kuban Russia
Time: 5:30 PM (5:30 MSK)
Place: Yubileyny Sports Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia
TV: Match TV, VTB-League.com
Zenit: St. Petersburg lost to Avtodor last week, while Loko escaped vs. Astana, allowing Krasnodar to leapfrog Zenit into 3rd place. On Saturday, St. Petersburg has the perfect chance to strike back. The match-up between Kyle Kuric and Dmitry Kulagin is sure to entertain. Both sharpshooters were recently named to the EuroCup Second Team. Kulagin will also be motivated to play against his former team, where he enjoyed one of the best seasons in his career.
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Loko nearly blew a 20-point lead in the first meeting between these two teams with Mardy Collins rescuing Krasnodar down the stretch. Beginning Saturday, Lokomotiv is entering the most important stretch of the season. Led by EuroCup Coach of the Year Sasa Obradovic, the Railwaymen hope to gain some separation in the race for 3rd place as well as prepare for next week’s EuroCup championship vs. Darussafaka and David Blatt.
Sunday, April 8
Enisey Russia – Astana Kazakhstan
Time: 4:00 PM (12:00 MSK)
Place: Arena.Sever, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Enisey: This is the moment of truth for Krasnoyarsk. After losing to PARMA, the team has almost no margin for error. It’s been a rough season for Enisey due to injuries and this is the last chance for redemption. Enisey lost to Astana in the first meeting of the season, one of the Kazakh club’s two wins under Kostas Flevarakis. This time Enisey will go against Mikhail Karpenko.
Astana: Astana has dropped three in a row, sinking to 11th place in the League. The team has also already played 19 games, more than all but one other team in the playoff chase. With only five games remaining, including challenge match-ups vs. UNICS and Avtodor, Astana needs a win on the road in Siberia.
Kalev Estonia – Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus
Time: 5:00 PM (5:00 MSK)
Place: Kalevi Spordihall, Tallinn, Estonia
TV: VTB-League.com
Kalev: Tallinn played Khimki tight, even leading at halftime in Moscow Region. But the lack of depth eventually caught up with them as Kalev’s eight-man roster ran out of steam down the stretch. With 20 games already played this season, 12th-place Kalev desperately needs a win on Sunday.
Tsmoki-Minsk: The Dragons are in slightly better position, but with games against Khimki, Avtodor and Zenit remaining on the schedule, Alexander Krutikov’s men have little margin for error in games vs. sub-.500 teams. Though a win vs. Kalev might not lift Minsk into the top eight, a loss hurts more. Despite the upset win vs. Lokomotiv, Minsk remains the worst offensive team in the League and Sunday’s opponent is averaging 12 points more per game.
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Kazan, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
UNICS: Kazan has a challenging week ahead, taking on a red-hot Riga club only three days after visiting Saratov. The schedule doesn’t let up, either. UNICS plays teams with postseason aspirations the rest of the way, which means almost every opponent will be desperate for a win.
VEF: VEF fits that category. Riga is 0-11 all-time vs. UNICS, but given the team’s momentum, an upset in Kazan is not inconceivable. Watch for VEF guard Alex Perez. He’s scored 20+ in each of the last two wins, but faces a big test against Kazan’s defense.
Monday, April 9
Nizhny Novgorod Russia – CSKA Russia
Time: 7:00 PM (7:00 MSK)
Place: Sports Palace, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Nizhny Novgorod: Zoran Lukic’s men have been much improved on defense in recent outings, helping keep their postseason hopes alive. But Nizhny took a step back against VEF, giving up nearly 100 points in a defeat. CSKA has the League’s best offense–the only team averaging more than 90 per game (92.4)–which means Nizhny has no margin for error.
CSKA: The Army Men regained 1st place with the win over UNICS and hope to stay there. But there’s only a few days between the game in Nizhny and the EuroLeague regular season finale vs. rival Crvena Zvezda. Following the defeat to Zalgiris, Vitaly Fridzon stated that the Army Men had no right to play poorly in back-to-back games. Expect CSKA to go all-out vs. the Serbian club, and perhaps have little left in the tank for Monday’s game in the VTB United League.
Time: 7:30 PM (7:30 MSK)
Place: BCMO, Khimki, Russia
TV: Match! Nash Sport, VTB-League.com
Khimki: Moscow Region has a daunting trip to Barcelona prior to the game vs. PARMA as injuries continue to plague Georgios Bartzokas’ roster. The Greek boss said six players are banged up right now and it’s unclear how many will be available over the weekend.
PARMA: PARMA is not the same team that lost by 37 to Khimki early in the season. The foreign players have gelled and big man Yannick Moreira poses a serious threat to Khimki’s weakened frontcourt. Nikolajs Mazurs’ most effective strategy may be pushing the tempo to the max, which was largely successful vs. Astana and Enisey.
