Here are the biggest stories from the past seven days in the League.
Everyone wants in the playoffs!
This season has been witness to the most competitive playoff race in VTB United League history. While UNICS and CSKA (the Army Men have even clinched home-court advantage), plus Zenit, Lokomotiv-Kuban, Khimki and Avtodor are solidly in the top eight, seven teams are competing for the final two spots. Enisey is the furthest back in the pack, losing again over the weekend to Kalev. But with nine games remaining on the schedule, there’s still time for Krasnoyarsk to right the ship. With one and a half months to go in the season, this postseason chase is only getting started!
Kalev on the rise
The Estonians opened the week in 12th place with a game vs. 13th-place Enisey, having lost four in a row. Kalev star Isaiah Briscoe was unable to continue his streak of five straight games with 20+ points, but Bojan Subotic scored a League career-high 29 points to keep Enisey in last place and improve its chances of making the playoffs.
Kalev kept rolling on Monday, taking down another Russian club in the final game of the wek – Avtodor Saratov. Though there’s still plenty of work to be done, Kalev now has as many wins (6) as 7th-place Astana.
Komolov’s shot and a miracle escape in Nizhny Novgorod
The game between Nizhny Novgorod and Astana embodied the fierce battle being fought over the playoffs. Two teams hoping to reach the postseason played a remarkably tight game: three of the four quarters ended in a tie! The game was ultimately decided by Artem Komolov’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer. It was insane.
The miracle make rewarded Nizhny for not giving up in a nearly hopeless situation (down two points with seven seconds remaining and Astana inbounding), and also eased the sting of multiple narrow defeats to the League’s top clubs (-2 vs. UNICS, -3 vs. Zenit, -3 vs. Khimki).
Mikhail Karpenko took over Astana following an 85-73 loss at home to Nizhny Novgorod. The Russian boss had led his team to a 4-1 record since then, but Nizhny once again proved too much for the Kazakh champs. Astana remains in 7th place, while Nizhny moves closer to the coveted 8th and final playoff spot.
VEF bumps PARMA out of 8th
Almost every game between teams competing to reach the postseason means a shakeup in the standings. The showdown between VEF and PARMA in Riga was no exception. VEF guard Alex Perez must have been inspired by Russell Westbrook reaching 100 career triple-doubles, leading his team in points (21), rebounds (9) and assists (7). More importantly, Perez led his team to a win, lifting VEF into 8th place at PARMA’s expense. But VEF wouldn’t last long in 8th, Due to other results around the League, the Latvians were bumped to 10th.
Tsmoki makes history vs. Loko
Tsmoki-Minsk began 2018 with an extended skid, but the recent win over PARMA may have been a turning point in the season. The Belarusians went even further this week, defeating Lokomotiv-Kuban, the club’s first-ever win over the Railwaymen and the first victory against a top-five team this season. Minsk needed to survive overtime, and 11 straight points from Dmitry Kulagin, plus overcome 12 misses at the free-throw line. The hero for Minsk was Devon Saddler who scored 22 points and shot 67% from the field, including a League career-high four 3-pointers.
The Belarusians are back in the playoff hunt, while Loko has now lost a record four consecutive games in the League and virtually erased the team’s 1st-place hopes.
Турнирное положение после 20-й игровой недели/Standings after week 20: pic.twitter.com/denzfCcpmb
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) 20 марта 2018 г.
