Week In Review: Nizhny Scores Upset, Astana Stays Alive, Avtodor Clinches Postseason

Week In Review: Nizhny Scores Upset, Astana Stays Alive, Avtodor Clinches Postseason

The biggest news from the past seven days.

Loko bumps Zenit out of the top three

Lokomotiv-Kuban played for the first time since losing to Darussafaka in the EuroCup finals, and dropping a much-needed game to Zenit in the VTB League.

Krasnodar took out its frustration on PARMA on Sunday. Jonas Maciulis (13 points, 12 rebounds) recorded his first double-double for Krasnodar and everyone contributed as Lokomotiv rolled to a 30-point win at home.

The shot of confidence was just what the doctor ordered and also pushed Loko into 3rd place, thanks to Zenit’s stumble in Nizhny Novgorod. While the two teams sport identical 14-6 records, Loko holds the tie-breaker thanks to a superior head-to-head record. Both teams have four games remaining on the schedule. 

Avtodor guarantees a playoff spot

Avtodor picked up a win in the most exciting game of the weekend, breaking VEF’s resistance after being forced to overtime on an Alex Perez triple. The win came with a tasty reward, too, clinching Saratov’s spot in the postseason with four games to go. 

Avtodor is back after missing the postseason in 2017. This will be the club’s third playoff appearance, though they have yet to win a single playoff game. 

Nizhny makes amends for Enisey disaster, takes down its first top-five team

The loss at home to Enisey last week dealt Nizhny’s playoff hopes a serious blow and the team needed to make amends vs. 3rd-place Zenit. Easier said than done.

But Nizhny Novgorod was nearly perfect in the first half and led by as much as 25, while holding Sergey Karasev scoreless. He would ultimately foul out in the 3rd quarter, finishing with zero points for only the third time in his League career.

Despite some drama late in the 4th quarter, Nizhny was able to secure an impressive 10-point win. Ivan Strebkov led the way with 24 points and a perfect 7-7 night at the line. 

This was Nizhny Novgorod’s first win over a top-five team this season. There had been several close calls: two three-point losses to Khimki, -3 to Zenit in St. Petersburg, and -2 to UNICS. Given the daunting road ahead (UNICS, Avtodor and Loko), the win could be key to the White-Blacks’ playoff hopes. For now, they are all alone in 7th place. 

Astana snaps five-game losing streak

Astana initially went 4-1 under new head coach Mikhail Karpenko, before dropping five in a row. The Kazakh champs righted the ship vs. Kalev, scoring over 100 points for the first time this season. Malcolm Grant knocked down eight 3-pointers–a new season record–in only 21 minutes on the court to score 32. 

Astana remains in 11th place, but with games vs. VEF and Avtodor, has a chance to reinsert itself into the playoff conversation.

Kalev is the first team to conclude the regular season. The loss in Astana was the team’s fifth-straight. Injuries wreaked havoc on the roster late in the season, hampering the team’s playoff hopes. Kalev is currently in 12th place, one win up on Enisey. Krasnoyarsk will have four chances to catch and pass the Estonians. 

Final Four heads to Moscow

The League’s Final Four will be held in Moscow at the VTB Ice Palace! The tournament is scheduled for June 8-10.          

The top eight teams in the regular season will open the postseason on May 23 with a best-of-five quarterfinal series, using a 1-2-2 format. The four winners will head to Moscow, where they will meet in the Final Four. 

With the exception of the inaugural VTB League season, which featured an eight-team, single elimination tourney in Moscow, this is the first time the Russian capital has hosted the Final Four. Earlier sites for the Final Four were Kaunas (2010), Kazan (2011) and Vilnius (2012).