Six games are scheduled for November 26 and 27. Find out what you need to know in our mini preview.
Saturday, November 26
Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus) – Khimki (Russia)
Time: 3:00 PM (3:00 MSK)
Place: Minsk Arena, Minsk, Belarus
TV: Match! Nash sport, VTB-League.com
Tsmoki-Minsk: Minsk finally snapped its losing streak, closing out a win over Parma with a strong 4th quarter. But the win didn’t come easy against the League newcomers. The Dragons, for example, only scored six in the 2nd quarter… Tsmoki may won that game, but a similar performance against Khimki, which gives up less than 72 points per game on average, is unlikely to end so well.
Khimki: Moscow Region is 6-0 vs. Tsmoki with an average winning margin of 20 points per game. Surprisingly, this will be Khimki’s first road game of the season. Dusko Ivanovic’s club opened with five straight home games. The team is in high spirits entering Saturday’s game after taking down Fuenlabrada in the Eurocup on Thursday to secure 1st place in the group.
Sunday, November 27
Lokomotiv-Kuban (Russia) – VEF (Latvia)
Time: 4:00 PM (4:00 MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Krasnodar, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Sasa Obradovic’s revolution in Krasnodar is paying off so far. Of course, he’s got a lot of work to mold the team in his image (Kenny Gabriel, for example, is headed to Greece). Nonetheless, Loko continues to lead the League in fewest points allowed (the only club giving up less than 70 points per game). Yes, and Krasnodar’s offense is starting to forge an identity: The team has scored more than 85 in its last four outings, though, to be fair, the opponents were all from the bottom half of the standings.
VEF: Riga has one of the most balanced teams in the League: 3 wins, 3 losses, and virtually an identical number of points scored and conceded. Curiously, Janis Gailitis’s squad looks very different home and away: scoring 87.5 points per game in Riga, while preferring a much more cautious approach on the road. The rebounding battle will be big on Sunday. Both teams are in the top three in the League (39 boards per game), making this an interesting matchup.
CSKA (Russia) – Nizhny Novgorod (Russia)
Time: 5:00 PM (5:00 MSK)
Place: USH CSKA, Moscow, Russia
TV: Match! Igra, VTB-League.com
CSKA: The Army Men are sitting pretty in 1st place, both in the VTB United League and Euroleague, where Dimitris Itoudis’s men just finished dismantling Baskonia. CSKA dropped 112 points on the Spanish club with Milos Teodosic becoming the third player in Euroleague history to record 1000 assists.
Nizhny Novgorod: Volga is facing a tough task on Sunday. Last in the League in points allowed (97.8 per game), Nizhny Novgorod needs to try and solve the League’s top-scoring team at home (100+ per game). Nizhny’s defense struggled on Friday, too, giving up 98 points to Gran Canaria in the Eurocup. Stalbergs commented on the situation after the game, saying his team is making the same mistakes over and over again. A year ago, Nizhny shocked the League by beating CSKA, 86-82, but that game was at home and few players remain from that team.
Enisey (Russia) – Zenit (Russia)
Time: 5:00 PM (1:00 MSK)
Place: Arena Sever, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
TV: Match TV, VTB-League.com
Enisey: Krasnoyarsk started the season strong, beating Loko on the road and demonstrating other positive results. But the momentum has slowed, especially following last week’s stunning double-overtime defeat in Kazakhstan. The team didn’t recover in time for its Europe Cup game, losing to last-place Prishtina. At the same time, Enisey had already clinched a spot in the second round and treated the game more like glorified practice ahead of a big home game with Zenit.
Zenit: The standings are gradually taking shape and Zenit is ranked in the top 3, as expected. European competition has also been good to the Blue-White-Sky Blues. St. Petersburg beat Bayern earlier this week to clinch a spot in the next round of the Eurocup. But Sunday’s game against a motivated Enisey squad won’t be easy. The team is also starting a tough series of road games across both competitions, which could be dangerous for Vasily Karasev’s aggressive, high energy style of play. Stopping Frank Elegar in the frontcourt will be one of the keys to the game for Zenit.
Parma (Russia) – Astana (Kazakhstan)
Time: 5:30 PM (3:30 MSK)
Place: USP Molot, Perm, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Parma: Parma has started to build an identity: Hard-working and competitive, the club may not have a win yet, but never makes it easy for the opponent. With every game, the team appears to be getting closer and closer to securing that first win. Last week, Tsmoki needed a big 4th quarter to emerge victorious. Now it’s Astana’s turn, a team not known for its success on the road.
Astana: The Kazakhs got a huge boost last week, beating Enisey in a rollercoaster double-overtime game thanks to Rob Lowery’s circus 3-pointer at the buzzer. Sunday’s game should be tough, too. This is only Astana’s second road game of the season. The team lost to Kalev in its first outing away from home and it wasn’t even close. Don’t expect any surprises from Ilias Papatheodorou against Parma. The team will play off its defense and look to score inside the 3-point line and at the charity stripe (Astana is 4th in the League in both categories).
UNICS (Russia) – Kalev (Estonia)
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Kazan, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
UNICS: Kazan is 2nd in the standings behind CSKA, but continues to struggle in the Euroleague, losing again on Thursday to powerhouse Real Madrid. Playing at home against Kalev, Kazan will try to bounce back quickly from the disappointment in Madrid. Traditionally, the Estonians are a good match-up for Kazan, with the last loss coming back in 2013.
Kalev: This is already’s Tallinn’s third game against one of the League’s leaders. In the two previous contests (CSKA and Zenit), Alar Varrak’s men failed to keep it close. With UNICS smarting from Friday’s loss, the Estonians had better be ready to go if they want to keep this game close. Following last week’s meeting, CSKA coach Dimitris Itoudis praised Kalev for its athleticism and quick tempo. Those will be important factors on Sunday. Kalev needs to push the pace and play together if it hopes to have a chance of overcoming Kazan’s superior talent. The visitors will also try to put as much pressure as possible on UNICS’s worn-out leaders.
