The Regular Season in VTB-Youth League is slowly approaching the end. But there may be still some important changes in the final standings in the last 8 rounds. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.
The biggest surprise took place in Saint Petersburg where host Zenit-2 (26-14) edged league’s leader CSKA-Junior (35-7) 65-64 on Thursday evening. It ended at the same time the nine-game winning streak of CSKA-Junior. Strangely CSKA-Junior outrebounded Zenit-2 48-32 including 34 on the defensive glass. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Zenit-2 made 8 blocks. Alexandr Porotnikov (192-2007) fired 17 points for the winners. point guard Semen Burinskiy (183-2005) chipped in 12 points and 6 assists. Nikolay Natcvlishvili (198-2005) produced a double-double by scoring 20 points and 13 rebounds for lost side. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Defending champion maintains fifth position with 26-14 record. CSKA-Junior at the other side dropped to the second place with seven games lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by MBA-2. CSKA-Junior will play next round against strong Khimki-2 trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Zenit-2 will try to continue on its current victory against seventh ranked Minsk on the road.
The game in Nizhny Novgorod supposed to be also worth to mention about. Second ranked MBA-2 (36-8) played at the court of 6th ranked N.Novgorod-2 (25-17). MBA-2 smashed N.Novgorod-2 98-48. Worth to mention a great performance of Ivan Kalugin who helped to win the game recording 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Matvey Padius contributed with 21 points for the winners. Georgiy Shilokhvostov (190-2005) replied with 11 points and 5 assists for N.Novgorod-2. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. MBA-2 keeps a position of league leader. N.Novgorod-2 at the other side keeps the sixth place with 17 games lost. MBA-2 will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. N.Novgorod-2 will play on the road against Uralmash-2 (#11) in Yekaterinburg and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Rest of the games of round 52 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Parma-2 crushed Samara-2 in Perm 99-74. Avtodor-2 was beaten by Uralmash-2 at home 80-86. Bottom-ranked Enisey-2 lost to UNICS-2 on the opponent’s court 76-90. Minsk managed to outperform Lokomotiv-2 in a home game 83-73.
Samara-2 – Parma-2 74-99
There was no surprise when 9th ranked Samara-2 (14-28) was crushed at home by fourth ranked Parma-2 (27-15) 99-74. Parma-2 forced 21 Samara-2 turnovers and outrebounded them 46-28 including a 19-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. Parma-2 players were unselfish on offense dishing 24 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of guard Ivan Egorov (189-2005, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) who helped to win the game recording 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Mikhail Gulyaev (195-2006) contributed with 19 points and 4 steals for the winners. Four Parma-2 players scored in double figures. Parma-2’s coach Anton Kataev felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Alexey Prokhorov (205-2006) replied with 20 points (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) and Bogdan Shuvakin (198-2006) added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the effort for Samara-2. Parma-2 maintains fourth position with 27-15 record. Samara-2 lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the tenth place with 28 games lost. Parma-2 will play against UNICS-2 (#9) in Kazan in the next round where they are favorite. Samara-2 will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Parma-2: I.Mironov 21+2reb+2ast, M.Gulyaev 19+4reb+3ast, I.Egorov 18+8reb+4ast, L.Svinin 14+5reb+4ast, S.Vshivkov 8+2reb+1ast, Y.Guchkov 8
Samara-2: A.Prokhorov 20+3reb, D.Martynov 13+3reb+3ast, B.Shuvakin 11+5reb+4ast, E.Chirkov 9+2reb+2ast, I.Zaytcev 9+6reb+2ast, N.Shvechikhin 8+4reb+2ast
gschID: 1205001
Avtodor-2 – Uralmash-2 80-86
Everything could happen in Saratov at the game between two tied teams. Both eleventh ranked Uralmash-2 and 12th ranked Avtodor-2 had identical 11-30 record. But Avtodor-2 was not able to use a home court advantage and lost to the opponent from Yekaterinburg 86-80. Uralmash-2 outrebounded Avtodor-2 47-32 including 32 on the defensive glass. Uralmash-2 brought some defensive toughness making 7 blocks. Avtodor-2 was plagued by 28 personal fouls down the stretch. Worth to mention a great performance of Vladislav Smagin (200-2006) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 21 points and 14 rebounds. Artyom Fomin (189-2005) contributed with 19 points and 5 rebounds (made all of his seven free throws) for the winners. Four Uralmash-2 players scored in double figures. Center Anton Suschik (210-2005) replied with 27 points and 9 rebounds and guard Rustem Gabaraev (190-2006) added 17 points and 4 assists in the effort for Avtodor-2. Uralmash-2 maintains eleventh position with 12-30 record. Avtodor-2 at the other side keeps the twelfth place with 31 games lost. Uralmash-2 will play against higher ranked N.Novgorod-2 (#6) in Nizhny Novgorod in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Avtodor-2 will play on the road against Lokomotiv-2 (#8) in Krasnodar and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Uralmash-2: V.Smagin 21+14reb+2ast, A.Fomin 19+5reb+2ast, A.Kosachev 13+1reb+7ast, M.Reshetov 10+6reb+4ast, A.Sereda 9+3reb, E.Nikishenko 8+12reb
Avtodor-2: A.Suschik 27+9reb+2ast, R.Gabaraev 17+3reb+4ast, P.Forsov 9+5reb+3ast, A.Novikov 9+2reb, S.Skotnikov 9+3reb+7ast, R.Gafiev 6+2reb+4ast
gschID: 1205002
UNICS-2 – Enisey-2 90-76
Very expected game in Kazan where 13th ranked Enisey-2 (2-40) was defeated by ninth ranked UNICS-2 (15-27) 90-76. UNICS-2 outrebounded Enisey-2 50-37 including 37 on the defensive glass. UNICS-2 players were unselfish on offense dishing 26 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of point guard Magomednabi Khalilulaev (186-2006) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 21 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Guard Nikita Lednev (189-2005) contributed with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. Four UNICS-2 players scored in double figures. UNICS-2’s coach Andrei Kibenko allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Roman Pekshin (194-2005) replied with 23 points and 9 rebounds and guard Egor Skuratov (190-2005) added 12 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in the effort for Enisey-2. UNICS-2 maintains ninth position with 15-27 record. Enisey-2 at the other side stay dead last with 40 lost games. UNICS-2 will play against higher ranked Parma-2 (#4) in Perm in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Enisey-2 will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
UNICS-2: M.Khalilulaev 21+12reb+4ast, N.Lednev 16+8reb+6ast, E.Shaposhnikov 15+4reb+5ast, T.Allayarov 10+4reb+2ast, V.Dergavin 9+5reb+2ast, Y.Dudnik 7+9reb
Enisey-2: R.Pekshin 23+9reb+3ast, E.Skuratov 12+8reb+5ast, A.Ovchinnikov 11+1reb+2ast, D.Zavorotniy 9+8reb, A.Anicshenko 8+2reb, V.Afanasev 6+4reb+5ast
gschID: 1205003
N.Novgorod-2 – MBA-2 48-98
The game in Nizhny Novgorod supposed to be also worth to mention about. Second ranked MBA-2 (36-8) played at the court of 6th ranked N.Novgorod-2 (25-17). MBA-2 smashed N.Novgorod-2 98-48. MBA-2 held N.Novgorod-2 to an opponent 23.7 percent shooting from the field compared to 51.5 percent accuracy of the winners. They outrebounded N.Novgorod-2 46-29 including a 31-18 advantage in defensive rebounds. MBA-2 shot the lights out from three nailing 12 long-distance shots on high 54.5 percentage. Worth to mention a great performance of Ivan Kalugin who helped to win the game recording 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Matvey Padius (194-2006) contributed with 21 points for the winners. Four MBA-2 players scored in double figures. Georgiy Shilokhvostov (190-2005) replied with 11 points and 5 assists and Vladimir Semenchenko (193-2005) added 12 points in the effort for N.Novgorod-2. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. MBA-2 keeps a position of league leader. N.Novgorod-2 at the other side keeps the sixth place with 17 games lost. MBA-2 will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. N.Novgorod-2 will play on the road against Uralmash-2 (#11) in Yekaterinburg and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
MBA-2: M.Padius 21+4reb+2ast, I.Kalugin 15+8reb+5ast, T.Shikalov 14+5reb+4ast, D.Finaev 11+2reb+1ast, A.Truntaev 9+10reb+2ast, G.Salagaev 9+2reb+3ast
N.Novgorod-2: V.Semenchenko 12+1reb+1ast, G.Shilokhvostov 11+4reb+5ast, A.Kovalenko 7+4reb, E.Kolin 6+5reb, V.Noskov 5+2reb+1ast, K.Belov 4+3reb+3ast
gschID: 1205004
Minsk – Lokomotiv-2 83-73
The game between closely ranked teams ended with seventh ranked Minsk‘s (20-20) home victory over 8th ranked Lokomotiv-2 (16-22) 83-73. Strangely Lokomotiv-2 outrebounded Minsk 40-27 including 16 on the offensive glass. Lokomotiv-2 was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. It was a very good performance for Belarusian point guard Andrey Ozhgo (179-2005) who helped to win the game recording 16 points and 6 assists. Belarusian forward Pavel Rabushko (198-2006) contributed with 15 points (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) for the winners. Four Minsk players scored in double figures. Center Pavel Ryabkov (202-2006) replied with 17 points and 9 rebounds and guard Alexandr Molofeev (195-2006) added 14 points and 7 assists in the effort for Lokomotiv-2. Lokomotiv-2’s coach Jovan Popovich rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Newly promoted Minsk maintains seventh position with 20-20 record. Lokomotiv-2 at the other side keeps the eighth place with 22 games lost. Minsk will play against higher ranked Zenit-2 (#5) in Saint Petersburg in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Lokomotiv-2 will play at home against Avtodor-2 and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Minsk: A.Ozhgo 16+4reb+6ast, D.Semenyuk 15+1reb+3ast, P.Rabushko 15+4reb+1ast, I.Litarnyi 11+4reb, V.Duchko 10+3reb, D.Mukete 7+7reb+4ast
Lokomotiv-2: P.Ryabkov 17+9reb+2ast, A.Molofeev 14+3reb+7ast, K.Luzan 13+4reb, D.Almyashev 8+6reb, R.Gagkaev 8+3reb, I.Grushevskiy 7+2reb+4ast
gschID: 1205005
Zenit-2 – CSKA-Junior 65-64
The biggest surprise took place in Saint Petersburg where host Zenit-2 (26-14) edged league’s leader CSKA-Junior (35-7) 65-64 on Thursday evening. It ended at the same time the nine-game winning streak of CSKA-Junior. Strangely CSKA-Junior outrebounded Zenit-2 48-32 including 34 on the defensive glass. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Zenit-2 made 8 blocks. Alexandr Porotnikov (192-2007) fired 17 points for the winners. Point guard Semen Burinskiy (183-2005) chipped in 12 points and 6 assists. Nikolay Natcvlishvili (198-2005) produced a double-double by scoring 20 points and 13 rebounds and forward Rostislav Gusev (204-2006) added 21 points and 8 rebounds respectively for lost side. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Defending champion maintains fifth position with 26-14 record. CSKA-Junior at the other side dropped to the second place with seven games lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by MBA-2. CSKA-Junior will play next round against strong Khimki-2 trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Zenit-2 will try to continue on its current victory against seventh ranked Minsk on the road.
Top scorers:
Zenit-2: A.Porotnikov 17+3reb+3ast, S.Burinskiy 12+6ast, E.Evstafev 9+4reb, T.Komissarov 5+8reb+1ast, D.Chikishev 5+4reb+4ast, I.Vasilev 5+2reb
CSKA-Junior: R.Gusev 21+8reb+1ast, N.Natcvlishvili 20+13reb+3ast, A.Lukyanov 12+8reb, I.Bondarenko 3+3reb+1ast, S.Novikov 2+5reb+2ast, D.Klubbe 2+2reb+4ast
gschID: 1205006
