The biggest stories from the past seven days in the League.
Takedown
Lokomotiv-Kuban keeps winning, picking up a 12th consecutive win. It hasn’t been easy. Krasnodar is grinding out victories, including last week’s last-second escape in Krasnoyarsk. This week the club returned to Krasnodar, only to suffer an hour and 40 minute delay in the game vs. Nizhny Novgorod due to a scoreboard malfunction. Once the game actually started, Loko found itself trailing for three quarters, caught flat-footed by a dynamic Nizhny offense. But the tide eventually turned. Kuban shut the visitors down in the 4th (29-13), to get the win and match the club’s longest winning streak in the League. Up next for Sasa Obradovic’s band of warriors: Astana, CSKA and Khimki.
Shot
Tsmoki hasn’t had many upset wins in recent years, which made this victory that much more meaningful. The clash between Antonio Graves, Dru Joyce III and Justin Gray with Keith Langford and Quino Colom went to overtime in Minsk, where Gray was able to knock down a contested 3-pointer over Colom with four seconds remaining. Big shot and a big win for Tsmoki.
Starters
The coaches for the Russian Stars and World Stars at the All Star Game–Evgeny Pashutin and Dimitris Itoudis–announced the starting lineups for the game in Sochi on February 11.
Russian Stars: Dmitry Khvostov (Lokomotiv-Kuban) – Alexey Shved (Khimki) – Sergey Karasev (Zenit) – Viktor Khryapa (CSKA) – Andrey Vorontsevich (CSKA)
World Stars: Milos Teodosic (CSKA) – Nando De Colo (CSKA) – Keith Langford (UNICS) – Janis Timma (Zenit) – Artsiom Parakhouski (UNICS).
The coaches also decided on assistants for the big game. Pashutin will be helped by Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev and Parma boss Viacheslav Shushakov. Itoudis is bringing along two CSKA assistants: Anton Yudin and Kostas Chatzichristos.
Crisis
UNICS continues to lose. Including the Euroleague, Kazan has only won once in the last 10 games. Last season’s runners-up haven’t won yet in the League in 2017, dropping four straight with the overtime setback in Minsk. According to Pashutin, the team is struggling mentally and physically. The schedule doesn’t get any easier in the weeks to come, but the team is finally getting healthy, which should make a difference.
MVP
Zenit forward Sergey Karasev has been named the League’s January MVP.
Karasev averaged 23.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and a 24.8 efficiency rating in January, beating out CSKA guard Nando De Colo and Khimki center Marko Todorovic for the award.
“After returning from the NBA, Sergey was a little out of it. He needed time to get in shape, and had some injury setbacks. That prevented Sergey from demonstrating his full potential. But he showed what can do in January!” – Russian singer and basketball connoisseur Lev Leshchenko.
Client
Kalev might be ranked in the top-eight if Astana was on the schedule a little more. Two of Kalev’s four wins this season have come against the club from Kazakhstan. Nevertheless, Sunday’s win over 8th-place Astana keeps Tallinn’s playoff hopes. Next up for Alar Varrak and co: a six-game homestand that could determine the fate of the season.
Dunk
Comeback
Sometimes it’s okay to celebrate a moral victory. Parma has yet to win, but the team has shown more heart than a lot of teams this season. With 5:50 to go in Sunday’s game against Krasnoyarsk, Parma trailed 76-56. A furious rally cut the deficit to two with a minute remaining, but Enisey was able to hang on at home. Yet another moral victory for Perm, though the club is certainly ready for even more.
Block
Small Ball
Avtodor came to Moscow without star Nick Minnerath and only one big man on the roster, Vince Hunter. Saratov’s small lineup kept CSKA scrambling, but the Army Men eventually took control. CSKA remains atop the standings, while Saratov picks up its 10th loss of the season.
Effort
Reinforcement
Zenit’s Vasily Karasev brought Janis Timma off the bench in the second half after sitting him for the first 20 minutes. The ex-Riga star had an immediate impact, drawing five fouls to go with eight points and two assists. St. Petersburg responded as a team, picking up a road win, the team’s 6th in a row. Zenit is now all alone in 3rd place.
Losses
Nizhny Novgorod point guard Ivan Strebkov hurt his ankle in a Eurocup game vs. Zenit. The injury is not serious, but he’ll have to miss several weeks, including the All Star Game.
Maxim Grigoryev faces a much more challenging recovery. After missing most of the last two seasons to injury, he’s out again with a damaged meniscus.
Substitution
UNICS point guard Anton Ponkrashov will replace Strebkov in Sochi.
Ponkrashov, who hasn’t played since October because of a knee injury, appealed to League executive Ilona Korstin in mid-January to include him as a candidate for the All Star Game, promising he would be healthy in time. His request was granted and now he’s headed to Sochi as the Russian Stars 13th man, replacing Strebkov.
Ilona Korstin @IlonaK10
@ponkrash it’s great that you are healthy, we’ll see you in Sochi as a player on the Russian Stars
Anton Ponkrashov @ponkrash
@IlonaK10 thank you, I’ll try to give the fans a good time with my play!
@IlonaK10 спасибо, постараюсь порадовать зрителей хорошей игрой!)
— Anton Ponkrashov (@ponkrash) February 3, 2017
Rumor
CSKA leader Nando De Colo quickly squashed rumors in the Spanish press that he wants to move to Barcelona.
A story came out that the League MVP and his wife don’t like living in the Russian capital.
“Even though it’s a little cold here, we really like living in Moscow. Thank you for your concern,” – De Colo tweeted.
Record
UNICS leader Keith Langford drew 13 fouls against Tsmoki-Minsk. That matches the League record, including the postseason, and is a new regular-season record.
Langford also drew 13 fouls in the playoff finals last season vs. CSKA.
Stat
18 – number of points scored in the 3rd quarter by Avtodor forward Nick Minnerath against Tsmoki-Minsk. That’s a new season record! Minnerath also matched Tsmoki’s offensive output in the period.
Minsk bounced back in the 4th, cutting a 25-point deficit to five, but ultimately lost.
Quote
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Igor Grishchuk:
– Gray loves the game and I trust him, because he’s been with me for so long. Graves is a good player. Finding him mid-season was a miracle. I’m happy he’s here.
Stars
Nick Minnerath (Avtodor)
According to Saratov president Vladimir Rodionov, Euroleague clubs have approached Avtodor about Minnerath, but the team is holding onto him. He responded with a 30-point, 5-rebound game vs. Minsk, helping bounce back from a big loss in Nizhny and boost the team’s playoff hopes.
Justin Gray (Tsmoki-Minsk)
Gray took 11 3-pointers against UNICS, knocking down four, including the game-winner. He finished with 15 points and six assists.
Nando De Colo (CSKA)
CSKA’s depth and dominance in the League can make it difficult to fully appreciate De Colo’s talent. But he’s been magnificent this season, including on Sunday vs. Avtodor. De Colo posted 24 points (8-12 from the field) to go with eight assists and a team-best 29 efficiency rating.
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