Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Krasnodar and Samara will host 5 regular season games on Sunday.
UNICS (Kazan) vs Enisey (Krasnoyarsk Region)
Time: 14:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Kazan, Basket Hall
Broadcast: Match TV, League website
UNICS: After the home loss to CSKA, the Kazan team managed to get 10th win of the season in Samara. The team is unstable offensively, but makes up for it with quality play in the paint – UNICS ranks in the Top 3 in rebounding and two-point percentage. The rebounding will be especially important against Enisey, who regularly plays better in offense. Velimir Perasovic team won their first clash on the road (72:57), and now will be able to use home court advantage.
Enisey: Although Jovica Arsic team remains outside the Top 8, but noticeably improving from game to game. First, the Siberian team snatched a win from MBA-MAI (78:76), and then nearly upset Loko at home (70:73). The Krasnoyarsk team will play next game on the road. But Enisey is capable of putting up a fight against UNICS due to teamwork and the progress of Roman Zagretdinov and Vladislav Odinokov, who are having their best momentum of the season. The upcoming game will have a special significance for Odiniokov, as the guard will be playing in Kazan for the first time against his former team.
Uralmash (Yekaterinburg) vs Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod)
Time: 17:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Yekaterinburg,GAUSO “Dvorets Igrovykh Vidov Sporta”
Broadcast: League website
Uralmash: The Yekaterinburg team home series is going well so far – Uralmash has 2 wins and loss only from CSKA (77:70). Now the team will face Pari NN, which is ahead in the standings. Rostislav Vergun team will surely have a tough game, but Uralmash has better stats in rebounds, blocks and turnovers. The Yekaterinburg team won first game between the teams, who played without Johnny O’Bryant. Now the center wis in the roster and will be able to help.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: After the losing streak, Nizhny Novgorod got 2 confident wins: against PARMA and versus Astana. The Volga team need to win in Yekaterinburg to maintain a comfortable lead over the 6th and 7th teams in the League. Sergey Kozin team surpasses Uralmash in shooting efficiency and also remains the best in assists per game, so team offense could play a key role in the clash. Pari NN is going to the road game in good shape and motivation to take revenge for the loss in the first round.
PARMA (Perm Region) vs Zenit (St. Petersburg)
Time: 17:30 (15:30 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Perm, UDS Molot
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
PARMA: The Perm team failed to extend winning streak after the sensational win over Loko, losing to Avtodor and Nizhny. Now the team will have to play the 2 leaders of the standings, which may worsen place in the standings. The first game with Zenit ended with the huge loss, but since then Aleksandr Shashkov has returned and will be able to help stop the St. Petersburg team bigmen. Royce Hamm will come out fighting against his former team, and the home fans support could help PARMA against very strong opponent.
Zenit: The St. Petersburg team has the second best winning streak in the League with 7 wins. But the last 2 games have shown that Xavier Pascual team can be unstable – games against MBA-MAI and Avtodor were tough. It’s important for Zenit get confident win before the break. And the fans have every reason to expect it: the roster is healthy, team stats is better and the St. Petersburg team won the first round clash (100:56).
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar) vs Avtodor (Saratov)
Time: 16:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Broadcast: Match! Igra, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: Loko got back to winning after losing streak and got 2 wins in a row. After a tough ending in Krasnoyarsk, the Krasnodar team will host Avtodor, who nearly upset Andrei Vedischev team in the first round. Loko outperforms the Volga team in performance, rebounding and other team stats. The Krasnodar team will have to pay special attention to defense against Caleb Agada and Kerem Kanter, as well as deal with the guests sharpshooters.
Avtodor: The Saratov team has won 3 of last 4 games, with the only loss in the end against Zenit. The team faces Loko, who defeated the Volga team in Saratov earlier this season. Since the last clash, Avtodor has added Kerem Kanter, who averages 12.5 points per game and is an important part of the offense. In the upcoming game, the Volga team will try to take revenge for first-round loss, using defense and long-range shots.
Samara (Samara region) vs MBA-MAI (Moscow)
Time: 18:00 (17:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, , SKK “Dvorets Sporta”
Broadcast: League website
Samara: The Volga team had a disappointing first half of November – 3 losses in a row, the team dropped to the 9th place in the standings. Drazen Anuzlovic team has been combining a lot in offense, but due to unstable shoting and bad second half of games is losing to rivals. Now Samara will have a chance to regain confidence at home versus MBA-MAI, which is also struggling. The key stats and the rivalry history are on Samara side – in the first round, the Volga team got win (86:79).
MBA-MAI: MBA-MAI current losing streak has already is 5 games. The Moscow team had tight games, but continue to fail in final quarter. But there is positive component as well, Vladislav Trushkin and Makar Konovalov are coming to help Andrey Zubkov score points. The team offense has become more varied, which will help Vasily Karasev team to compete for a win over Samara, bu the team need to reduce turnovers.
