There were just 7 rounds played in Regular Season of VTB United League and we can clearly see which teams will fight for top positions and which will try to avoid bottom places. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.
The most exciting game of round 7 in the VTB United League took place in Samara. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of 8th ranked Samara (2-4) to fifth ranked N.Novgorod (5-2) 89-87 on Tuesday evening. N.Novgorod outrebounded Samara 33-21 including 21 on the defensive glass. N.Novgorod shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 53.8 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of forward Aleksandr Chadov (202-2001) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds. American point guard Kasey Shepherd (190-1994, college: Louisiana) contributed with 12 points and 5 assists for the winners. N.Novgorod’s coach used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. Guard Mikhail Kulagin (191-1994) answered with 21 points and 5 rebounds for Samara. N.Novgorod moved-up to third place, which they share with UNICS and Zenit. Samara at the other side keeps the eighth position with four games lost. N.Novgorod is looking forward to face MBA Moscow (#9) at home in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Samara will play against Astana and is hoping to prove to their supporters that this time they can win.
One of the most interesting games of round 7 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Saratov where eleventh ranked MBA Moscow won against host Avtodor (2-5) 76-68. It was a great evening for Andrey Zubkov (206-1991) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 16 points and 15 rebounds. Evgeny Voronov helped adding 20 points. MBA Moscow’s coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. At the losing side Nigerian-Canadian Caleb Agada (196-1994, college: Ottawa, agency: Pensack Sports) responded with a double-double by scoring 11 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists. MBA Moscow moved-up to ninth place, which they share with defeated Avtodor. MBA Moscow will play against higher ranked N.Novgorod (#5) in Nizhny Novgorod in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Avtodor will play at home against Enisey (#11) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
One of the most interesting games of round 7 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Krasnodar where leader Lokomotiv won against visiting Uralmash (3-3) 91-80. It was an exceptional evening for Patrick Miller who led the winners and scored 17 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Lokomotiv’s coach used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Jeremiah Martin came up with 19 points and 7 rebounds for Uralmash in the defeat. Undefeated Lokomotiv (6-0) have an impressive series of six victories in a row. They maintain first place with a perfect record of 6 victories in a row. Loser Uralmash dropped to the sixth position with three games lost. They share it with Parma-Pari. Lokomotiv will meet UNICS (#4) in the next round. Uralmash will play against Zenit and hope to secure a win and be promoted back to the just one year after relegation.
In the last two games of round 7 winless Astana was beaten by UNICS on the road 97-81. Enisey destroyed Parma-Pari on its own court 89-61.
The most impressive performance of 7th round was 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists by Aleksa Stepanovic of Enisey.
UNICS – Astana 97-81
No shocking result in a game when fifth ranked Russian UNICS (5-2) beat bottom-ranked Kazakhstan Astana (0-7) in Kazan 97-81 on Tuesday. UNICS looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. It was an exceptional evening for Turkish point guard Tony Taylor (184-1990, college: GWU) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 13 assists. American guard Marcos Knight (191-1989, college: MTSU, agency: Slash Sports) accounted for 17 points and 6 rebounds for the winning side. Four UNICS players scored in double figures. American point guard Markell Johnson (188-1998, college: NC State) came up with 26 points and 5 assists and American-Nigerian guard Daniel Utomi (198-1997, college: USC) added 19 points respectively for Astana in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. UNICS have a solid series of four victories in a row. They moved-up to third place, which they share with N.Novgorod and Zenit. Loser Astana still closes the standings with seven games lost. UNICS will meet at home league’s leader Lokomotiv in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Astana will play against Samara (#8) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
UNICS: J.Reynolds 21+3reb+1ast, D.Akoon-Purcell 19+3reb+1ast, T.Taylor 19+2reb+13ast, M.Knight 17+6reb+3ast, S.Toropov 10+2reb+1ast, I.Bako 7+6reb+1ast
Astana: M.Johnson 26+4reb+5ast, D.Utomi 19+2reb+1ast, G.Motovilov 9+3reb+6ast, D.Pokhodiaev 9+8reb+1ast, G.Smith 7+5reb+1ast, R.Murzagaliyev 6+4reb+2ast
gschID: 1183678
Samara – N.Novgorod 87-89
The most exciting game of round 7 in the VTB United League took place in Samara. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of 8th ranked Samara (2-4) to fifth ranked N.Novgorod (5-2) 89-87 on Tuesday evening. N.Novgorod outrebounded Samara 33-21 including 21 on the defensive glass. N.Novgorod shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 53.8 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of forward Aleksandr Chadov (202-2001) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds. American point guard Kasey Shepherd (190-1994, college: Louisiana) contributed with 12 points and 5 assists for the winners. N.Novgorod’s coach used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. Guard Mikhail Kulagin (191-1994) answered with 21 points and 5 rebounds and American guard Brendan Adams (193-2000, college: GWU) added 19 points and 6 assists in the effort for Samara. Four Samara players scored in double figures. N.Novgorod moved-up to third place, which they share with UNICS and Zenit. Samara at the other side keeps the eighth position with four games lost. N.Novgorod is looking forward to face MBA Moscow (#9) at home in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Samara will play against Astana and is hoping to prove to their supporters that this time they can win.
Top scorers:
N.Novgorod: Z.Nutall 16+2reb+3ast, A.Chadov 13+10reb+2ast, A.Dawkins 13+1ast, K.Shepherd 12+4reb+5ast, E.Baburin 10+1reb+1ast, N.Djurisic 9+3reb+3ast
Samara: M.Kulagin 21+5reb+2ast, A.Gudumak 20+3reb+2ast, B.Adams 19+1reb+6ast, I.Popov 10+2reb+4ast, G.Goldyrev 9+2reb+1ast, N.Brooks 6+4reb+1ast
gschID: 1183679
Avtodor – MBA Moscow 68-76
One of the most interesting games of round 7 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Saratov where eleventh ranked MBA Moscow won against host Avtodor (2-5) 76-68. Avtodor was plagued by 25 personal fouls down the stretch. It was a great evening for Andrey Zubkov (206-1991) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 16 points and 15 rebounds. Guard Evgeny Voronov (194-1986) helped adding 20 points. MBA Moscow’s coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. At the losing side Nigerian-Canadian Caleb Agada (196-1994, college: Ottawa, agency: Pensack Sports) responded with a double-double by scoring 11 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists and center Dmitriy Khaldeev (210-1999) scored 15 points. Five MBA Moscow and four Avtodor players scored in double figures. MBA Moscow moved-up to ninth place, which they share with defeated Avtodor. MBA Moscow will play against higher ranked N.Novgorod (#5) in Nizhny Novgorod in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Avtodor will play at home against Enisey (#11) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
MBA Moscow: E.Voronov 20+1reb+2ast, A.Zubkov 16+15reb+2ast, M.Konovalov 11+4ast, V.Trushkin 10+4reb+3ast, D.Kasatkin 10+3reb+2ast, D.Pevnev 5+4reb
Avtodor: D.Khaldeev 15+3reb+2ast, V.Pranauskis 15+1reb+1ast, C.Agada 11+5reb+11ast, E.Sychkov 10+6reb, J.Jones 7+3reb+2ast, A.Petenev 5+5reb+1ast
gschID: 1183680
Lokomotiv – Uralmash 91-80
One of the most interesting games of round 7 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Krasnodar where leader Lokomotiv won against visiting Uralmash (3-3) 91-80. Lokomotiv made 20-of-23 free shots (87.0 percent) during the game. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Lokomotiv made 9 blocks. It was an exceptional evening for American guard Patrick Miller (185-1992, college: Tennessee St., agency: Slash Sports) who led the winners and scored 17 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Andrey Martyuk (211-2000) accounted for 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks for the winning side. Four Lokomotiv players scored in double figures. Lokomotiv’s coach used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American point guard Jeremiah Martin (189-1996, college: Memphis) came up with 19 points and 7 rebounds and the other American import forward Tyrell Nelson (205-1995, college: Gardner-Webb) added 19 points and 6 rebounds respectively for Uralmash in the defeat. Lokomotiv (6-0) have an impressive series of six victories in a row. They maintain first place with a perfect record of 6 victories in a row. Loser Uralmash dropped to the sixth position with three games lost. They share it with Parma-Pari. Lokomotiv will meet UNICS (#4) in the next round. Uralmash will play against Zenit and hope to secure a win and be promoted back to the just one year after relegation.
Top scorers:
Lokomotiv: P.Miller 17+5reb+6ast, A.Martyuk 14+7reb+2ast, B.Johnson 13+2reb, I.Whaley 12+8reb+1ast, M.Vedishchev 10+1reb+1ast, K.Temirov 9+4reb
Uralmash: T.Nelson 19+6reb+2ast, J.Martin 19+7reb+3ast, S.Whittaker 15+3reb+4ast, J.Douglas 9+6reb+2ast, V.Zaitcev 9+6reb+4ast, K.Pisklov 4+1reb
gschID: 1183681
Enisey – Parma-Pari 89-61
We cannot really consider it an upset in the game between close teams when 9th ranked Parma-Pari (3-3) was smashed by tenth ranked Enisey (1-5) in Krasnoyarsk 89-61 on Wednesday. Enisey made 16-of-17 free shots (94.1 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. It was an exceptional evening for Serbian Aleksa Stepanovic (206-1998) who led the winners and scored 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). Timofey Gerasimov (197-1997) accounted for 18 points and 7 assists for the winning side. Five Enisey players scored in double figures. American guard Garrett Nevels (188-1992, college: Hawaii, agency: Slash Sports) came up with 17 points and the other American import center Royce Hamm Jr (206-1999, college: UNLV, agency: MSG) added 10 points and 10 rebounds respectively for Parma-Pari in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Despite that victory Enisey went down to eleventh position due to points difference. Loser Parma-Pari dropped to the sixth place with three games lost. They share the position with Uralmash. Enisey will meet higher ranked Avtodor (#10) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Parma-Pari will play against the league’s second-placed CSKA (#2) having rather not much hope for a victory.
Top scorers:
Enisey: T.Gerasimov 18+2reb+7ast, A.Stepanovic 18+7reb+5ast, V.Sanders 16+2reb+4ast, D.Sonko 12+2reb+2ast, S.Balashov 11+6reb+2ast, U.Blizniuk 11+1reb
Parma-Pari: G.Nevels 17+3reb+3ast, A.Zakharov 12+3reb+1ast, R.Hamm Jr. 10+10reb+1ast, S.Ilnitskiy 8+5reb+1ast, A.Hamilton 6+1reb+3ast, T.Yakushin 2+1reb
gschID: 1183682
