Catch up on the biggest stories from the weekend.
CSKA regains the top spot
The Army Men began the game vs. 1st-place UNICS with a 17-3 run. The bench was instrumental in CSKA’s success. Othello Hunter outscored Kazan’s starters on his own in the first half, finishing with a season-best 14 points. Leading by 19 at halftime, CSKA was able to completely neutralize Kazan’s stars–Quino Colom (1-7), Stephane Lasme (0-6) and March MVP Jamar Smith (2-8)–and defeat UNICS for the second time this season. The White-Greens only shot 33% from the field and finished with 63 points, 23 below their season average.
После главной игры недели:@cskabasket ⬆ на 1-е место@unicsbasket ⬇ на 2-е место pic.twitter.com/mex1WDlpcH
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) 2 апреля 2018 г.
Moscow regains 1st place, which it had conceded following back-to-back defeats to Lokomotiv-Kuban and Zenit at the beginning of January. Kazan, which hadn’t lost since December 10 (88-75 to CSKA), now trails Moscow by three wins–15-2 vs. 18-2–and would finish in 2nd if these two teams end the season tied due to the tiebreaker.
The League’s first triple-double in three years
Codi Miller-McIntyre’s triple-double was the story in Perm as PARMA secured a valuable win in the chase for the postseason. Miller-McIntyre had been close before, missing out by a single rebound in a December game vs. VEF (13 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists). He finally broke through on Sunday, dropping 17 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists.
It’s been three years since anyone posted a triple-double in the League. Kalev’s Scott Machado was the last to do it, posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists vs. Nizhny Novgorod in February 2015.
With the win, PARMA improves to 7th place. Enisey, meanwhile, has virtually been eliminated from playoff contention.
Khimki takes revenge, minus Shved
Khimki’s loss to Kalev in January (92-84) capped a dismal mid-winter swoon from the Yellow-Blues and even put the team at risk of being fined for unsatisfactory play. For the second meeting with the Estonians, injury-riddled Khimki was without star Alexey Shved (Branko Mirkovic also missed the game for Kalev). But Charles Jenkins and Isaiah Briscoe filled the void left by their teammates, with the Khimki vet and Tallinn rookie each scoring 28.
That’s a new personal best in the League for Jenkins, who knocked down seven 3-pointers (and dished out six assists). Briscoe was only a point shy of his career high (29). Though the Jenkins – Briscoe duel ended in a draw, Khimki cruised to victory by shooting 16-21 from beyond the arc.
Lokomotiv snaps a four-game skid
The Railwaymen had lost four in a row entering the game vs. Astana, while the Kazakh champs had dropped two straight. Playing without Dmitry Kulagin, the Red-Greens were led by Joe Ragland, who put on a show together with Astana guard Justin Carter. Ragland finished with a career-best 29 points, knocking down 10-13 from the field and dishing out five assists to one turnover. Carter impressed, too, with 26 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Astana trailed by as much as 17 points, before eight 3-pointers in the 4th quarter helped the visitors cut the deficit to one late. The Kazakhs had a chance to win on the final possession, but Loko’s defense held firm, forcing the visitors into a turnover as time expired.
Krasnodar snaps its losing streak and moves ahead of Zenit into 3rd place.
VEF bounces Nizhny Novgorod from the top eight
VEF and Nizhny Novgorod are two of the top candidates for a playoff spot. The Russian club entered the game in 8th place, with VEF one spot beneath them.
Alex Perez made sure his team took advantage of the opportunity to leapfrog Nizhny at home. The point guard helped VEF secure a big lead in the 3rd quarter and hang on for a win, scoring a season-best 27 points.
In the final minute, neither team scored a single field goal, which played into VEF’s hands. With the victory, Riga took over 8th place, exacting revenge for an 80-64 loss earlier in the season, and would make the playoffs if the season ended today.
Saratov ready to make noise in the postseason after dominating in St. Petersburg
After getting eliminated from the EuroCup playoffs, Zenit had an unusual amount of time to prepare for the game vs. Avtodor. It didn’t help.
Though both teams are typically excellent on offense, this was a lopsided affair. Saratov put the game away in the first half, outscoring the home team, 61-36. Avtodor shot 65% from the field, the second-best performance of the season. Coty Clarke led the way for Evgeny Pashutin’s men with 23 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Avtodor is now 5th and Zenit 4th. Could these teams meet again in the postseason?
