Astana, Yekaterinburg, Perm, St. Petersburg and Samara will host 5 regular season games on Sunday.
Astana (Astana) vs Avtodor (Saratov)
Time: 15:00 (13:00 Moscow time)
Place: Kazakhstan, Astana, Velotrek “Saryarka”
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Astana: The Kazakh team continues to suffer from leders’ injuries. The team started the current home series with the loss to CSKA, which was caused by poor field goal percentage (11% of two-pointers made). Fotis Takianos has enough experienced players on his roster, so such problems with shot efficiency are unlikely to occur for the second time in a row. Astana now has 2 home games against teams from the bottom of the standings, which will be a chance to win. First up will be Avtodor, which Astana outplayed a little over a year ago at home.
Avtodor: The Saratov team has already played 3 times this season in tight endings, but only one of them was able to get win. The game against Loko was no exception, as the Volga team lost by 3 points and once again had good shooting percentage (40%). Long-range shooting that can help Milenko Bogicevic team beat Astana, which averages 33% three-point made (vs. 38% by the Saratov team). The guests will also have an advantage in steals (10.0 vs. 6.5) and the results of the last 3 head-to-head games, which Avtodor won.
Uralmash (Yekaterinburg) vs UNICS (Kazan)
Time: 17:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Yekaterinburg, GAUSO “Dvorets Igrovykh Vidov Sporta”
Broadcast: Match! Igra, League website
Uralmash: The team finished the road series with the win in Nizhny Novgorod (75:89). Now Rostislav Vergun team will play at home for the first time in the season. The Yekaterinburg team hasn’t beat the opponent yet, but the team will definitely have a chance to do so. The hosts has slightly better three-point shooting than the Kazan team. In addition, veteran Viacheslav Zaitsev, who has spent the last 3 seasons with UNICS, will be especially motivated.
UNICS: The Kazan team finished the home series with the win over Enisey. Tony Taylor had a good game (23 points), and Louis Labeyrie returned from injury, so the team heads to Yekaterinburg in high spirits. The Volga team will certainly have an advantage in the paint against the hosts – UNICS is in the Top 2 in rebounding and Top 4 in blocks, while Uralmash is still without Octavius Ellis. The rivalry history is at Velimir Perasovic team side. Last season, the Kazan team got 2 wins with an average difference of 18 points.
PARMA (Perm Region) vs MBA-MAI (Moscow)
Time: 17:30 (15:30 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Perm, UDS Molot
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
PARMA: The trip to St. Petersburg was tough, as the Perm team couldn’t get their offense going and lost (56:100), making only 11.8% of their three-pointers. The players will be motivated to rehabilitate in front of their fans in UDS Molot, where the team has won its only game of the season so far. In addition, the Perm team future opponent is still looking for its game and had not won yet, as well as in the Top 2 in turnovers per game (17.3). If Evgeny Pashutin team can also provoke the opponent to make mistakes and fix the shooting, PARMA will be able to put up a fight against MBA-MAI.
MBA-MAI: Vasily Karasev team got 4th consecutive loss against Samara, but showed character again. MBA-MAI front court looks decent – Andrey Zubkov and Danil Pevnev scored a combined 42 points, and for the veteran 25 points was the best result in 6 years. To beat PARMA, the bigger dun will need to find a way to stop Royce Hamm. The team heads to Perm with a fighting attitude, as their future opponent MBA-MAI outperforms in average efficiency, shooting percentage and other stats.
Zenit (St. Petersburg) vs Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar)
Time: 16:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, St. Petersburg, CSC Arena
Broadcast: Match TV, League website
Zenit: After a difficult trip to Kazan, Zenit returned at home and pleased the fans with a 100 for the third time this season. All players scored points, and Omari Spellman was the best scorer again, so the team is in high spirits for the game with Loko. The St. Petersburg team future opponent has the team’s longest winning streak and is just as efficient on offense as the hosts. Defense will be crucial in the clash between the 2 offensive systems, where the St. Petersburg team is slightly better.
Lokomotiv Kuban: Loko will conclude road series in St. Petersburg that has been going well so far. The Krasnodar team survived in the end and earned their fourth straight win versus Avtodor (87:84). Lokomotiv is approaching the game with their principal rival as the League’s highest-scoring team, with the best three-point shooting percentage (42.9%). To win against the hosts, the Krasnodar team will need to keep the offensive game, as well to cope with Dwayne Bacon, who ranks in the Top 2 in scoring. Antonius Cleveland, who ranks in the League’s top five in steals (2.5 per game) can help with such objective.
Samara (Samara region) VS Enisey (Krasnoyarsk region)
Time: 18:00 (17:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SKK “Dvorets Sporta”.
Broadcast: League website
Samara: Drazen Anzulovic team managed to get the first win of the season in Moscow over MBA-MAI. 5 players scored 10+ points, and the long-range shooting percentage exceeded 35% for the first time in the season. Now Samara will face Enisey, which also has 1 win and averages 12 points less than the Volga team and ranks last in field goal percentage. The home court factor and the possible return of Aleksandr Gudumak and Nysier Brooks will also be on their side.
Enisey: After a home win over MBA-MAI, the Krasnoyarsk team tested the leaders with games against CSKA and UNICS. In both games, Jovica Arsic team struggled at times against the favorites, but because of a lack of stability still lost to both CSKA and UNICS. The Siberian team head to Samara to end losing streak, as the future opponent has worse three-point shooting percentage (31.6% vs. 25.9%) and less rebounds.
