Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar and Moscow will host 4 regular season games on Wednesday.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod) vs PARMA (Perm Region)
Time: 19:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, KRK Nagorny
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhny Novgorod started the season with a confident win in Astana (90:62). Sergey Kozin team had good shooting percentage and variety in offense – 5 players scored 10 points or more. The rotation help against PARMA, which has a lot of young players on its roster. The result of the semifinal of the Khairetdinov Cup also speaks in favor of Pari NN – then the team convincingly defeated PARMA without JaKeenan Gant (70:43).
PARMA: The perm team continues its road tour on the Volga. In the opening game against Avtodor, Evgeny Pashutin team showed character and came back to the game trailing by 20. Now the Perm team will face Pari NN. PARMA defeated its future opponent at a later stage of preparation for the regular season – on September 14 at the Primatov Cup. PARMA is going to Nizhny Novgorod with the hope to get first win of the season.
Zenit (St. Petersburg) vs Avtodor (Saratov)
Time: 19:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, St. Petersburg, KSC Arena
Broadcast: League website
Zenit: The St. Petersburg team started the season with a confident win over MBA-MAI (103:75), despite the absence of Sergey Karasev. The key was defense – Zenit made 15 steals (against only 1 turnover). Against Avtodor, Xavier Pascual team will likely be able to make steals as well, as the team has a much more experienced backcourt. However, Zenit bigmen Vince Hunter and Alex Poythress are also in optimal shape – both players scored 10+ in their debut game. The St. Petersburg tteam roster looks balanced, so the hosts is the favorite for the upcoming game.
Avtodor: The Saratov team also started the season with a win, defeating PARMA at home (67:59). Newcomer Bryant Crawford had a particularly successful debut with 22 points. The team centers also made a significant contribution getting 50 rebounds. It will be more difficult for Avtodor frontcourt to play as effective in the upcoming game, as the opponents will be the athletic Vince Hunter and Alex Poythress. But Milenko Bogicevic team is capable of putting up a fight against a formidable opponent – the last game between the teams ended with Zenit winning by just 1 point (86:85). In addition, Artem Klimenko, who has spent the last 2 seasons with Zenit, will be especially motivated.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar) vs Astana (Astana)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Broadcast: Start Triumph, League website
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Andrey Vedischev coaching debut was a success, as Loko managed to build a 20-point lead at home before the halftime and defeated Enisey. The Krasnodar team had more steals (15 vs. 7) and made half of the shots from the game. Now the Krasnodar team will face a more experienced opponent led by Markell Johnson, who remains one of the most talented offensive players in the League. But team has options to pick up their second straight win – in addition to the home crowd, Loko will have a size advantage in the paint with Andrey Martyuk and Kirill Elatontsev.
Astana: The Kazakh team lost to Nizhny in the first game of the season. Fotis Takianos’ team had poor long-range shooting percentage (22%) and communication problems in offense, which led to 21 turnovers. If the team manages to correct these mistakes, and Markell Johnson continues to be effective, Astana will have a good chance to get their first win of the regular season.
CSKA (Moscow) vs Uralmash (Yekaterinburg)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Megasport.
Broadcast: Match! Igra,League website
CSKA: In their first game of the season, CSKA shut down UNICS at home (71:55). For the reigning League champion, this was the 4th consecutive win including the SuperCup games. So the Moscow team has a good mood before second season game. CSKA defeated Uralmash twice last season, both times by double-digit. Andreas Pistiolis’ team looks to be the favorite before the upcoming rivlary and can focus on advantage in the paint due to the absence of the injured Octavius Ellis.
Uralmash: The Yekaterinburg team started their road trip with a win over Samara (92:79). Due to an injury to Octavius Ellis, Javonte Douglas, Stanley Whittaker and Jeremiah Martin shared points lead with 70 points combined. Uralmash offense often came down to difficult isolation shots. This style of offense could be a problem against CSKA, which has several experienced players on the roster (Nikita Kurbanov, Ivan Ukhov). Uralmash also needs to be more careful defensively to put up a fight against the Moscow team, as in the first game of the season, problems with fouls by the bigmen nearly allowed Samara to start a comeback.
