On Thursday, St. Petersburg and Krasnoyarsk will host 2 regular season games.
Enisey (Krasnoyarsk) – MINSK (Minsk)
Time: 19:30 (15:30 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnoyarsk, Arena Sever
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Enisey: The Krasnoyarsk team won their first game of the season in Minsk. At the same time, Enisey set a club high in letting the opposing team score 36 points. Defense will be the key to success in the home game against MINSK. The Siberian team definitely have something to prove: they have only 2 wins, although this team could win more. Enisey still has a chance to get into the Top 6, but it is simply necessary to beat MINSK. For sure, a special game against the former team will be for Yauheni Beliankou and Angelo Warner, who played for the Belarusian team last season.
MINSK: Almost 2 months after the start of the season, the Belarusian team still has no wins. Perhaps newcomers will help the Minsk team: Suprere Hannah has already played against Loko on Sunday (scored 9 points and 3 assists), and Ognjen Pantovic is just preparing for his debut in the League. And yet, Uladzislau Bliznyuk is the leader of the team: he is among the best scoring players (14.6) and assists (4.9) and could help his team to get the first win of the season.
Zenit (Saint Petersburg) – Samara (Samara)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saint Petersburg, Sibur Arena
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Zenit: On Monday, the St. Petersburg team easily beat MBA and are now ready to face another League newcomer. In the previous game of these teams in Samara, Zenit had an extremely difficult game: only in the last quarter, Xavi Pascual team managed to turn the situation around and win – defense and Caleb Homesley actions helped. Most likely, this time the defense can be the key to Zenit success, because the team leads the League’s defensive rating – on average, the St. Petersburg team let opponents score 67.4 points per game.
Samara: The Volga team has already demonstrated that they can play well against the strongest teams of the League – both Zenit at home and UNICS on the road, the team lacked strength and concentration only in the last quarter. Jordan Theodore made his debut in Kazan – the guard showed that he is in great shape and ready to prove here and now. Malcolm Thomas, who has broken finger, was immediately replaced: Ivan Lazarev became the most effective player against UNICS, scoring 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Samara is not going to St. Petersburg as favorites, but the team can surprise.
