The biggest stories from the last seven days in the League.
Focus
The regular season has passed the midway mark, which means the playoff battle is starting to heat up. On Saturday, Nizhny Novgorod took a big step toward rejoining the top-eight, crushing 9th-place Avtodor by 42 in the Volga derby.
On the following day, 8th-place Enisey picked up an even more impressive win by defeating UNICS at home. VEF and Astana, currently 6th and 7th in the standings, did not fare as well over the weekend, losing to Khimki and CSKA, respectively. The race for 6th-8th should be entertaining with at least five clubs in the mix.
Breakout
Stumble
UNICS was tied with CSKA for 1st place only a few weeks ago, but has now dropped to 5th place, thanks to a three-game losing streak. After falling to Loko and CSKA, last season’s runners-up suffered a surprising defeat in Krasnoyarsk.
Revenge
VEF defeated Khimki in the first game of the season and hoped to sweep the season series in Riga. VEF star Janis Blums said as much in a recent interview. He did everything he could to deliver a win, scoring 27 points, but it wasn’t enough against a deep Khimki roster. Led by Marko Todorovic (22), Robbie Hummel (20) and Alexey Shved (17), Moscow Region had too much firepower.
“We started strong, but were awful for the next 36 minutes, to put it kindly. We played defense like we were at the All-Star Game,” – recapped VEF coach Janis Gailitis.
Comeback Try
Kalev raced to an 18-point lead in the 1st quarter against Parma, going up by as much as 25 points in the game. But the visitors never quit. Despite a huge deficit entering the 4th quarter, Parma was able to get within five points (81-76) with a minute remaining, before Kalev closed out the win. The Siberian club continues to search for its first win of the season, while Kalev improves to 3-11.
Defense
Zenit won its 5th-straight, shutting down Tsmoki-Minsk in St. Petersburg. The Russian club only gave up 24 points in the second half.
“We won thanks to defense, especially in the second half, when we only gave up 24 points. Even though it wasn’t our best game on offense and we didn’t shoot that well, we managed to win thanks to defense,” – Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev.
Teaser
Showbiz stars want to see you in Sochi for the All-Star Game.
Three-Pointers
The VTB United League revealed the lineup for the Three-Point Contest, which will be held between the 1st and 2nd quarters of the All-Star Game.
Ryan Broekhoff (Lokomotiv-Kuban) – 47.7%
Janis Blums (VEF) – 38.4%
Nobel Boungou-Colo (Khimki) – 51.3%
Justin Gray (Tsmoki-Minsk) – 38.5%
Ivan Ukhov (Parma) – 42.8%
Demonte Harper (Kalev) – 37.8%
Dunks
Fans also found out who’s headed to the Dunk Contest. With the contest scheduled for halftime, here’s your lineup: Nobel Boungou-Colo (Khimki), Viacheslav Zaitcev (Khimki), Janis Timma (Zenit), Frank Elegar (Enisey).
Each contestant will get two attempts during the semifinal round. The top two dunkers will get two more chances in the final round. There will be one minute allotted per attempt.
Reinforcement
Loko hasn’t lost since October, but keeps looking for ways to improve. Last week, Krasnodar brought in Kaspars Berzins, a five-year League veteran. His career averages are 10.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 blocks.
Stat
6 – number of steals by Rob Lowery against CSKA, second-best in the League this season. Led by the high-energy Lowery, Astana kept it close for three quarters, but eventually ran out of steam in the 4th quarter.
Quote
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Arturs Stalbergs:
– A game like today’s game is my dream. It’s any coach’s dream! I’ve waited five months for this game. Everything worked on defense and on offense.
Stars
Dijon Thompson (Nizhny Novgorod)
If there were any concerns about Nizhny’s decision to bring back Dijon Thompson, they are quickly fading. The American big man enjoyed a terrific game against Avtodor, posting 22 points on 10-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds, five assists and a 42 efficiency rating!
Marko Todorovic (Khimki)
Todorovic was almost perfect in Riga: 10-11 from the field, 22 points, nine rebounds, three assists and zero turnovers, not to mention a win.
Suleiman Braimoh (Enisey)
Braimoh helped topple UNICS in the absence of star center Frank Elegar: 31 minutes on the court, 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
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