Four regular season games will be played on Thursday, Sunday and Monday.
Thursday, March 8
Time: 7:30 PM (8:30 MSK)
Place: Olimpic Sport Center, Riga, Latvia
TV: VTB-League.com
VEF: Riga has clearly turned a corner in recent weeks, winning three in a row and pushing Zenit to the limit on Saturday. As a result, VEF has finally escaped last place and moved into position for one of the final playoff spots. But in order to do so, they need to win games like these. Down the stretch, VEF has five games vs. other postseason hopefuls, giving them full control of their own destiny. With Astana and PARMA also playing this weekend, a win on Thursday could be huge.
Kalev: After a strong finish to 2017, Kalev has only one win in its last five games (vs. last-place Enisey). Isaiah Briscoe’s individual exploits haven’t been enough to produce wins. In the loss to Nizhny Novgorod, Stevan Jelovac set the League record for points, while Kalev’s defense was unable to slow down Codi Miller-McIntyre in a setback in Perm. VEF, at least, does not have any unstoppable scoring threats (Alex Perez leads the team with 12.8 ppg), meaning the Estonians will need to disrupt VEF’s team-oriented offense. Watch for another unpredictable Baltic derby in Riga.
Sunday, March 11
Astana Kazakhstan – Khimki Russia
Time: 3:00 PM (12:00 MSK)
Place: SC Velotrek, Astana, Kazakhstan
TV: VTB-League.com
Astana: Kazakhstan has not defeated Moscow Region since 2013. That could change on Sunday. These two teams had a memorable first meeting this season as Khimki escaped by one point at home when Ike Udanoh missed twice at the free-throw line in the closing seconds. Since taking over as head coach in December, Mikhail Karpenko has worked wonders, guiding Astana to three victories and a spot in the top eight. The team is much improved on defense, allowing only 77.2 points per game, fewer than even CSKA.
Khimki: Despite the differences in budget and talent, Khimki has identical numbers to Astana over the last five games. Worn down from EuroLeague competition, Moscow Region scraped past Nizhny Novgorod over the weekend thanks to Alexey Shved’s heroics in the final minutes. On Sunday, Khimki will need to overcome both the home team and fatigue. Including the EuroLeague, this will be the club’s fourth game in 10 days.
PARMA Russia – Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus
Time: 5:30 PM (3:30 MSK)
Place: Molot Sports Palace, Perm, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
PARMA: PARMA is coming off a terrific week in which they blew out Kalev and moved into 7th place, thanks in large part to Codi Miller-McIntyre’s season-record 17 assists. The American guard now leads the League in assists with eight per game and he’s also the only player in the League with more than 100 on the season. Perm will face a slumping Tsmoki-Minsk on Sunday with an opportunity to win back-to-back games at the Molot for the first time in club history.
Tsmoki-Minsk: Alexander Krutikov’s men have lost six in a row with the defeats coming to top contenders as well as playoff hopefuls. Minsk only managed to score more than 80 in one of those games, when they also allowed 93 points to CSKA. On the season, the Dragons are averaging a little over 70 points per game, while posting the League’s worst offensive efficiency numbers: ranking at the bottom in scoring, efficiency rating (75.3), rebounds and three-point percentage. Last weekend’s game vs. Astana epitomized the team’s struggles. After putting up 27 points in the 1st quarter, Minsk only managed to score 32 the rest of the way.
Monday, March 12
Time: 7:30 PM (8:30 MSK)
Place: Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia
TV: VTB-League.com
VEF: Riga has never beaten CSKA in 11 tries. The Army Men have better numbers in virtually every statistical category, except for rebounding, where VEF is +1.2 per game. But since CSKA likes to use a small lineup, that is rarely a deciding factor. Even if CSKA decides to rest several key players, they will still have more resources on hand than VEF.
CSKA: The Army Men are cruising once again, playing high-powered, creative basketball against any opponent, whether that’s Maccabi, Lokomotiv-Kuban or Tsmoki. CSKA has already guaranteed a playoff spot (along with UNICS), but the real goal is to finish in 1st place. Moscow faces Unicaja in the EuroLeague prior to the match-up with VEF, but that is unlikely to make a big difference, since Riga also plays mid-week vs. Kalev and will only have one extra day of rest.
