The biggest stories from the past seven days in the League.
Zenit defeats Loko in the final seconds, takes over 3rd
Zenit and Lokomotiv-Kuban are battling for 3rd place, which likely means avoiding Khimki in the playoffs entirely and CSKA until the finals. The battle in St. Petersburg came down to the final seconds, or to be more precise, until there was only 0.3 left on the clock. Drew Gordon, who missed a double-double by one rebound (11+9), made a much more significant contribution with his put-back.
Gordon came up with the game-winning play, but Zenit’s Russian contingent was also outstanding, scoring 50 of the team’s 78 points as St. Petersburg exacted revenge for a loss earlier this season in Krasnodar. That game also went down to the wire with the Railwaymen earning a three-point win (87-84). Loko has a better head-to-head record, but Zenit is now a half-game ahead in the standings (13-5 vs. 13-6).
The Blue-White-Sky Blues still play CSKA and UNICS in the regular season. If St. Petersburg stumbles, Loko has a chance to return to the Top-3 (Kuban only has one game remaining vs. a Big 5 team – Khimki).
Nizhny improves its playoff odds in Perm
Zoran Lukic called the visit to PARMA the biggest game of the season. As far as the postseason is concerned, the match-up had huge implications for both teams.
Perm struggled to shoot from beyond the arc (4-25), losing an 82-80 heartbreaker as Codi Miller-McIntyre’s three-point shot at the buzzer missed the mark.
PARMA’s All-Star guard did not record a second-straight triple-double (27 points, six rebounds, 1-5 from beyond the arc) in the defeat.
Nizhny forward Stevan Jelovac was the hero (24 points, 10 rebounds), as well as Ivan Strebkov (11 points, three assists, 5-5 from the line) who drained several big free throws down the stretch. Nizhny Novgorod (7-12) passes PARMA (7-13) in the standings to rejoin the top-8.
Tsmoki wins in overtime in Tallinn to return to the Top-8
For two more teams, Kalev and Tsmoki, the playoffs have already begun. On Sunday, neither team wanted to lose, battling into overtime. The Belarusians shot 58% from the field, but only 56% at the line and committed seven more turnovers than Kalev. Minsk, however, was a little more clutch down the stretch, led by sniper Chris Czerapowicz: 24 points and 4-4 from beyond the arc, including a big bucket in overtime. With the win, Tsmoki-Minsk eases into a tie for 8th place with Nizhny Novgorod (7-12).
Kazan’s comeback
UNICS lost big to CSKA a week ago, severely damaging the team’s 1st-place ambitions, but Kazan bounced back nicely this week, beginning with an impressive comeback in Saratov. UNICS overturned a 15-point second-half deficit, the 3rd-biggest margin of the season (Avtodor has the record, erasing a 17-point deficit vs. Lokomotiv-Kuban). Surprisingly, the game-winning basket was scored with 1:42 remaining (80-78) courtesy of Trent Lockett. Neither team scored the rest of the way.
Kazan’s renaissance continued vs. VEF (89-81). Kaspars Berzins set a career high for points in the League (29), but VEF wasn’t able to match Kazan’s depth as six players scored in double digits.
Quino Colom led the way with 18 points, five rebounds and eight assists. UNICS can forget about the loss to CSKA now and has very little chance of slipping below 2nd place in the standings.
Khimki shoots lights out
Khimki continues to struggle with injuries, but that didn’t prevent the team from shooting a League-leading 74% from inside the arc vs. PARMA. Alexey Shved (9-12, 20 points) and Malcolm Thomas (10-10, 26 points) were both magnificent in the win. The American center also added eight rebounds and posted a 32 efficiency rating.
Khimki’s anomalous shooting percentage helped counter PARMA’s Big Three of Frank Gaines – Codi Miller-McIntyre – Tre’ McLean, who scored 63 of their team’s 87 points. Khimki tightens its grip on 5th place.
Enisey breaks through at Astana’s expense
Enisey entered the game vs. the Kazakh champs on a seven-game losing streak. Astana, meanwhile, was in danger of letting its postseason chances slip away thanks to a three-game skid.
With both teams desperate to win, Enisey big man Suleiman Braimoh reminded everyone why he was the League’s Sixth Man of the Year last season, posting 18 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Denis Zakharov scored 15, including this ridiculous first-half buzzer-beater.
Enisey won each of the four quarters to finally halt its slide. This is the team’s first win since January 13, when it defeated Tsmoki-Minsk. Astana began with a 4-1 record under Mikhail Karpenko, but has since lost four in a row, dropping to 11th place.
