On Wednesday, Krasnodar and Moscow will host 2 regular season games.
MBA (Moscow) – Enisey (Krasnoyarsk)
Time: 19:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Basket Hall
Broadcast: League Website
MBA: The League newcomer, after a slight decline, began a new winning streak and after wins over Samara and Avtodor, had the 4th place and even equaled the number of wins with Zenit, which is the 3rd. MBA is ahead of Enisey in many stats: the team scores more (83.7 points vs. 71.0), steals more (9.2 vs. 8.0), assists better (16.0 vs. 14.2). The Moscow team has repeatedly shown high-quality defense, which became the key to win – now necessary to demonstrate this with Enisey. The Krasnoyarsk team is in 10th place, but it is also important not to underestimate the opponent. Timofey Yakushin played in the Krasnoyarsk team for 2 seasons.
Enisey: Enisey had 7 losses, 4 were in the very end. Loko and PARMA-PARI beat the Siberian team with the decisive shots, Pari NN and Samara – in overtime. the Krasnoyarsk team urgently needs to raise morale, and a win over the League newcomer will be the best. Yes, statistically Enisey is worse than MBA, but Drazen Anzulovic team has own pros. For example, James Thompson is one of the best rebounders of the League and the Moscow team will have problems guarding him. It is important for Enisey to limit turnovers – due to them, the Krasnoyarsk team is missing quite a lot throughout the season.
Fact: MBA and Enisey have never played.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar) – Zenit (Saint Petersburg)
Time: 20:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Broadcasts: TV Start Triumph, Match TV, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: After an unsuccessful start of the season, 2 wins in 6 games, Loko hds gained momentum and have already had more wins. More importantly, Loko has the second best winning streak after CSKA now – already 3 wins in a row. The Krasnodar team finally believed in their strength and now they are ready to battle against the reigning champion. Alexander Sekulic returned to the team in time – the head coach was absent from the Slovenian national team. This fall, Sekulic Loko has already beaten Zenit in the group stage of the SuperCup 2022 (74:73). Then Jaylen Barford scored the winning shot. Now it will be more difficult for Loko, because the Zenit is already 2 wins behind the first place in the standings and does not plan to lose in Krasnodar.
Zenit: The St. Petersburg team is really under stress as with every loss, the team will increasingly move away from the leaders. Zenit cannot afford to give away the game in Krasnodar, so it is unlikely that the coaching staff needs to look for something special to motivate. The game in Krasnodar will be interesting and in its scenario you can single out individual rivalries: an experienced Heurtel against a young Shcherbenev, a star Tompkins against the best young League Martiuk in the paint, coach Pascual against coach Sekulic!
Game of the Week. Lokomotiv Kuban vs Zenit
Fact: The teams played 20 games against each other in the United League. Loko leads – 11-9.
