On Tuesday, Saratov will host the regular season game.
Avtodor (Saratov) – Samara (Samara)
Time: 19:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS Kristall
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Avtodor: The Saratov team loosing streak has already reached 5 games. The management has already reacted: head coach Milos Pavicevic left the team, and Darko Russo, who worked at Astana in Kazakhstan last season, took his place. The coach does not have time to swing, the situation needs to be corrected, because few more losses from direct competitors and Avtodor will lose chances of a place in the Top-6 according to the first stage results. First of all, it is necessary to establish defense: the Volga team let the opponent score 86 points on average and only Astana has a worse result (89 points). Perhaps it will be possible to finish the loosing streak against Samara. The change of the head coach should help the team to reboot and the leaders – Boatwright, Garrett are simply need to show their best and stop the League newcomer.
Samara: However, at the moment of the season, Samara look like favorites in this Volga derby. Sergey Bazarevich team won a home game over PARMA, having managed to rebuild in the halftime. Samara is on the 5th place, but Loko, Pari NN and PARMA-PARI – are not so far behind. Samara is gradually improving team chemistry, which helps to not loose the ball a lot and improve the offensive possesions. Marcos Knight, who became the leader in the scoring race, is in a good shape, James Ennis is effective and Malcolm Thomas shows useful in the point. This Samara trio is sure to become a problem for Avtodor defense, and if the rest of the team helps their best players, they will win.
