One regular-season game will take place on Monday.
Zenit (St. Petersburg) vs. Enisey (Krasnoyarsk Krai)
Time: 7:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Moscow Time)
Venue: Russia, St. Petersburg, KSK Arena
Broadcast: Kinopoisk
Zenit: The blue-white-and-blue team is back on the winning track after a confident victory over Samara. In addition to their tenacious defense, they’ve been putting on a dazzling offensive display, coming within a hair’s breadth of scoring 100 points twice. Dusko Ivanović’s team has yet to lose at home this season. Next up is Enisey. The St. Petersburg team lost to the Krasnoyarsk side early last season. To prevent a repeat of that result, the hosts will need to stay focused for all forty minutes.
Enisey: The Siberians have played the fewest games and are still working on their team chemistry. They faced CSKA and held them to just 11 points in the first quarter, but were unable to contain the champions. Nevertheless, if the Krasnoyarsk team manages to impose its own pace in St. Petersburg and maintain the same level of focus throughout the game, they could give the favorite a run for its money.
Zenit Head Coach Duško Ivanović: “Enisey is a good team that stands out for its high level of discipline. They organize both their offense and defense effectively, so we’ll need patience when playing against them. And since we’re playing at home, we hope our fans will help us secure a victory in this battle. They really play as a cohesive unit, act patiently, and always try to find the best option for their attack. On top of that, they’re very good at fast breaks.”
Enisey Head Coach Jovica Arsić: “We have big ambitions, and the team has trained very well all week. I hope that right from the start, the players will show good energy and focus on our task. It’s no easy task: a month has already passed since the start of the season, and we need to start playing at a higher level. Zenit is a well-rounded and very experienced team, but we’ll do everything we can to make the game exciting for the fans.”
