There will be three VTB United League regular season games on Thursday.
Avtodor (Saratov, Russia) vs. MBA (Moscow, Russia)
Time: 19:00 (18:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS Kristall
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Avtodor: Avtodor changed its roster completely in the offseason, traditionally rolling into the season with a new coach and a lot of new faces. But the game against Runa showed that such dramatic transformations were not entirely without a consequence. The team play of the newcomer team, where 11 out of 12 players scored points, was more solid than Kyle Vinales and Rayshawn Hammonds performances. Nevertheless, the presence of two such formidable offensive players in Avtodor lineup (45 points combined) hints to the Volga team opponents that they should not relax.
MBA: Vasily Karasev team, which was one of the League’s biggest discoveries last season, made it clear at the start that it wasn’t going to give up its position. In a thriller against CSKA, MBA made a 20-point comeback and came close to pulling out the win in the fourth quarter. The well-structured Moscow team may be able to put pressure on Avtodor defense, which is getting used to each other – considering by the game against Runa, there are still plenty of such spots, and Daniil Kasatkin is unlikely to shoot as poorly as he did in the game against CSKA (1 out of 7).
Samara (Samara, Russia) vs. Zenit (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Time: 19:30 (18:30 Moscow time)
Place: Samara, SKK “Dvorets Sporta”
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Samara: Samara, which was completely renewed in the off-season, started the season with a convincing win over Enisey. With a 20-point deficit win, Samara took second place in the standings after the first round. Of course, in this round Samara will face an opponent of a different class: last season Samara failed to find how to beat Zenit’s defence, and this time the St. Petersburg team will be additionally motivated due to the disappointing result against Uralmash.
Zenit: The St. Petersburg team failed to beat League newcomer’s defense. Thomas Heurtel had not the greatest game of his career, who was the team’s best assistant (15 assists), but did not put offensive effort. On the other hand, Zenit center Bojan Dubljevic did his job well: he managed to score 17 points in his 13 minutes, and in the final quarter he almost single-handedly threatened the opponent’s rim. It’s quite possible that the bigman will get much more playing time against Samara.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar, Russia) vs. PARMA (Perm, Russia)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: Last year’s United League finalist performed poorly in their first game of the season, seemingly losing to UNICS without a chance. Loko played with a weakened lineup: team leaders DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Jaylen Barford were absent, as well as Zakhar Vedischev. So Okaro White was almost single-handedly responsible for scoring. The team also felt the departure of Chris Horton, and his replacement, Jordan Morgan, clearly didn’t fit into Aleksander Sekulic’s schemes and had four turnovers. The good news for Loko fans is that Barford has already resolved his paperwork issues and returned to Krasnodar, and Akoon-Purcell and Vedischev are expected to be back soon, but their participation in the game against PARMA has not been announced.
PARMA: Before the game PARMA coach Evgeniy Pashutin told reporters that in order to beat Loko, they will need to pay maximum attention to the Krasnodar team snipers – Akoon-Purcell and Barford. As we’ve already mentioned, both players’ participation in Loko’s first home game is in serious doubt, so PARMA task may become much easier. Still, it won’t be easy for the Perm team in Krasnodar, as this is only their first game in the regular season. One of the most interesting stories is the return of former Loko captain Stanislav Ilnitskiy, who played in Krasnodar from 2017 to 2022. The forward missed half of last season due to injury, but has already recovered and is ready to become one of the key PARMA players (he scored 18 points in the preseason game against Uralmash).
