Saratov, Moscow and St. Petersburg will host 3 regular season games on Thursday.
Avtodor (Saratov) vs Enisey (Krasnoyarsk region)
Time: 19:00 (18:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS “Kristall”
Broadcast: TV Start, VTB League website
Avtodor: Over the last 3 weeks, the Saratov team has cut the gap from PARMA and Nizhny and will have a chance to solidify it against Enisey. The Volga team will likely get a lot of help from the fans, as Avtodor scored 90+ points in their last 2 home games. In the season series with the Krasnoyarsk team, Avtodor leads 2-1, and performed better in offense (76 vs. 73.4 points on average) could help the hosts achieve third win.
Enisey: Saratov will be the final city of the road trip for Jovica Arsic team, during which Enisey managed to put up a fight to Zenit and beat Samara. The team is approaching this important game with an optimal roster, and offensive leader Victor Sanders has averaged 22.5 points in the last 4 games. The Siberian team will have a good chance to handle Avtodor and move closer to the Saratov team in the standings. Another key to win could be rebounding, the Krasnoyarsk team has been more efficient than the opponent this season (35.0 vs. 33.7).
CSKA (Moscow) vs Astana (Astana)
Time: 19:30 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Moscow, Megasport.
Broadcast: Start Triumph, VTB League website
CSKA: The Moscow team is the second in the standings now, but ahead of UNICS and Zenit on points differential. All team stats and rivalry history favors CSKA, which means the Moscow team fans have reason to expect a win in the upcoming game. With the big win over Astana and a loss to UNICS in the Game of the Week, CSKA could retake the lead, so the team is approaching this game with maximum concentration.
Astana: After the win over Samara, the Kazakh team hasn’t won any gamea, but became much more confident in offense. In recent games, Danila Pokhodiaev has been a big help to Daniel Utomi and Grigory Motovilov. In order to compete with the reigning champion in Moscow, Astana needs to maintain the same level of offensive variation, as well as avoid instability in defense, which became a problem versus Loko and Uralmash.
Zenit (St. Petersburg) vs UNICS (Kazan)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, St. Petersburg, CSC Arena
Broadcast: Match TV, TV Start, VTB League website
Zenit: The St. Petersburg team is doing well with the roster rebuild – Alexey Shved and Okaro White are gradually integrating into Xavier Pascual system and gaining shape, and the team has never allowed opponents to score more than 80 points in the last 7 games. Since mid-October, Zenit has only 3 losses, 2 were against UNICS. Both times, the St. Petersburg team lost in the end, so Zenit will have a special attitude and mindset for the upcoming clash. The strength of the hosts roster this time could be quality defense, as well as ball movement.
UNICS: The Kazan team is on a 16-game winning streak has beat Zenit twice. Velimir Perasovic team handled Avtodor, regained confidence after the loss in Perm, and will head to St. Petersburg motivated to maintain the lead in the standings. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Jalen Reynolds duo could be a problem for the hosts defense. But the opponent has also improved in January.
