Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar will host 4 regular season games on Wednesday.
Samara (Samara region) vs CSKA (Moscow)
Time: 19:00 (18:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SKK “Dvorets Sporta”.
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Samara: The Volga team is searching its game after rebuilding. And the search is going pretty well. Samara shows a character and has already beat Lokomotiv Kuban. Now the hosts will try to repeat that against CSKA. The new team leader Anton Kardanakhishivili, who came on loan to Samara from the Moscow team, will be especially energized.
CSKA: The team will begin the long road series in Samara. CSKA has motivation to win as the Moscow team continues to fight for 1st place with Zenit. The League leaders now have an equal number of points, and neither of them plans to let their rival get ahead.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod) vs Enisey (Krasnoyarsk region)
Time: 19:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, KRK Nagorny
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: After a great start, Nizhny Novgorod has slowed down a bit. But the momentum allows the team to hold at the 5th place in the standings. The hosts will try to maintain the place and also to take revenge for the loss in the first round. Then Pari NN only in the very end lost to the future rival.
Enisey: The Krasnoyarsk team remains one of the most unstable and unpredictable teams in the VTB League. Enisey alternate great games with bad, and there is no clear reason to these results. That’s why it’s hard to guess which Enisey is going to be in this game. But the guests already have the experience of beating Pari NN this season, and will do the best to repeat it.
Zenit (St. Petersburg) vs UNICS (Kazan)
Time: 19:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, St. Petersburg, CSC Arena
Broadcast: Match TV, League website
Zenit: The hosts has the longest 12-game winning streak. Zenit has a tough matchup with UNICS ahead. However, the fans support and leaders shape allow Zenit to expect win in this game as well.
UNICS: Last week, UNICS entered the Top 3. But the Kazan team’s main problem this season still exists as UNICS hasn’t defeated any of the Top 4 teams in the League. After 5 losses to the leaders, Velimir Perasovic team go to St. Petersburg with the intention of breaking this trend.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar) vs MBA-MAI (Moscow)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket-Hall
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: The Krasnodar team let UNICS to get 3rd after the last round. But Loko has every chance to regain the place on Wednesday. The Kazan team will have a tough clash in St. Petersburg. But the competitor loss isn’t enough, Lokomotiv need to win. And the Krasnodar team has problems with that from time to time. The Krasnodar team lost 2 of 3 last games – in Samara and Perm. So in this rivalry the hosts will try to regain winning streak.
MBA-MAI: Recently the Moscow team has been alternating wins and losses. After the loss to CSKA, the team should win according to this schedule. But it won’t be easy to make expectations into reality. It’s difficult for all teams to play in Krasnodar, and MBA-MAI is no exception to this rule. The Moscow team will have to do their best.
