Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.
The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of CSKA (15-2) in Saint Petersburg on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Zenit (15-2) 82-78. It ended at the same time the 11-game winning streak of CSKA. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Strangely CSKA outrebounded Zenit 35-22 including 25 on the defensive glass. It was a great evening for American guard Xavier Moon (188-1995, college: Morehead St.) who led his team to a victory scoring 20 points and 5 assists. His fellow American import Dwayne Bacon (201-1995, college: FSU) helped adding 20 points and 5 rebounds. At the losing side Senegalese-French Amath MBaye (205-1989, college: Oklahoma) responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds. CSKA’s coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Zenit have an impressive series of ten victories in a row. Defending Russian champion used an opportunity after CSKA lost their game and moved up joining them at the top position which they share with defeated CSKA. Zenit is looking forward to face bottom-ranked Astana (#12) in Nur-Sultan in the next round which should be an easy win for them. CSKA will play at home against Enisey (#10) and is hoping to win this game.
One of the most interesting games of round 19 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. Ninth ranked Samara edged visiting Lokomotiv (14-4) 72-71. It was an exceptional evening for guard Anton Kardanakhishvili (195-2002) who led the winners and scored 17 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. Hayden Dalton accounted for 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. American swingman BJ Johnson (201-1995, college: La Salle) came up with 29 points and 5 rebounds for Lokomotiv in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Samara (7-10) moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Avtodor. Lokomotiv at the other side keeps the third position with four games lost. Samara 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. Lokomotiv will play on the road against Parma-Pari in Perm and hopes to get back on the winning track.
One of the most interesting games of round 19 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Perm where tenth ranked Enisey won against host Parma-Pari (7-11) 81-64. Victor Sanders fired 31 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners. Royce Hamm Jr produced a double-double by scoring 22 points and 10 rebounds for lost side. Parma-Pari’s coach tested eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Enisey maintains tenth place with 6-12 record. Loser Parma-Pari keeps the ninth position with 11 games lost. Enisey will meet league’s leader CSKA in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Parma-Pari will play against Lokomotiv (#3) and hope to secure a win.
In the last two games of round 19 winless Astana was destroyed by MBA Moscow on the opponent’s court 73-49. Uralmash unfortunately lost to Lokomotiv in a home game 83-90.
Samara – Lokomotiv 72-71
One of the most interesting games of round 19 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. Ninth ranked Samara edged visiting Lokomotiv (14-4) 72-71. Samara forced 20 Lokomotiv turnovers. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. It was an exceptional evening for guard Anton Kardanakhishvili (195-2002) who led the winners and scored 17 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. American Hayden Dalton (204-1996, college: Wyoming, agency: Slash Sports) accounted for 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists for the winning side. American swingman BJ Johnson (201-1995, college: La Salle) came up with 29 points and 5 rebounds and the other American import guard Patrick Miller (185-1992, college: Tennessee St., agency: Slash Sports) added 14 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists respectively for Lokomotiv in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Samara (7-10) moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Avtodor. Lokomotiv at the other side keeps the third position with four games lost. Samara 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. Lokomotiv will play on the road against Parma-Pari in Perm and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Lokomotiv: B.Johnson 29+5reb, P.Miller 14+5reb+8ast, K.Elatontsev 9+3reb+1ast, K.Anderson 6+1reb+2ast, A.Martyuk 6+3reb, V.Emchenko 5+2reb+2ast
Samara: H.Dalton 17+7reb+4ast, A.Kardanakhishvili 17+6reb+8ast, A.Gudumak 14+9reb+3ast, I.Popov 9+1reb+1ast, I.Pynko 6+4reb+1ast, G.Goldyrev 4+1reb+1ast
gschID: 1183742
Zenit – CSKA 82-78
The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of CSKA (15-2) in Saint Petersburg on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Zenit (15-2) 82-78. It ended at the same time the 11-game winning streak of CSKA. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Strangely CSKA outrebounded Zenit 35-22 including 25 on the defensive glass. It was a great evening for American guard Xavier Moon (188-1995, college: Morehead St.) who led his team to a victory scoring 20 points and 5 assists. His fellow American import Dwayne Bacon (201-1995, college: FSU) helped adding 20 points and 5 rebounds. At the losing side Senegalese-French Amath MBaye (205-1989, college: Oklahoma) responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds and American guard Melo Trimble (190-1995, college: Maryland, agency: Pensack Sports) scored 15 points and 4 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. CSKA’s coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Zenit have an impressive series of ten victories in a row. Defending Russian champion used an opportunity after CSKA lost their game and moved up joining them at the top position which they share with defeated CSKA. Zenit is looking forward to face bottom-ranked Astana (#12) in Nur-Sultan in the next round which should be an easy win for them. CSKA will play at home against Enisey (#10) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
CSKA: A.M’Baye 18+12reb, M.Trimble 15+2reb+4ast, T.Jekiri 13+6reb+1ast, C.Ware 13+1reb+2ast, N.Kurbanov 6+6reb, A.Avramovic 5+1reb+2ast
Zenit: D.Bacon 20+5reb+1ast, X.Moon 20+2reb+5ast, A.Poythress 10+5reb, V.Hunter 10+4reb, O.Spellman 6+2reb, S.Karasev 6+2reb+1ast
gschID: 1183743
Parma-Pari – Enisey 64-81
One of the most interesting games of round 19 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Perm where tenth ranked Enisey won against host Parma-Pari (7-11) 81-64. American Victor Sanders (196-1995, college: Idaho) fired 31 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners. Timofey Gerasimov (197-1997, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) chipped in 10 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. American center Royce Hamm Jr (206-1999, college: UNLV, agency: MSG) produced a double-double by scoring 22 points and 10 rebounds and the other American import point guard Alex Hamilton (193-1993, college: La Tech, agency: SLN) added 16 points and 5 assists respectively for lost side. Parma-Pari’s coach tested eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Enisey maintains tenth place with 6-12 record. Loser Parma-Pari keeps the ninth position with 11 games lost. Enisey will meet league’s leader CSKA in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Parma-Pari will play against Lokomotiv (#3) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Parma-Pari: R.Hamm Jr. 22+10reb, A.Hamilton 16+5ast, D.Cheburkin 9+2reb, T.Yakushin 6+5ast, A.Shashkov 5+5reb+1ast, S.Ilnitskiy 4+3reb+2ast
Enisey: V.Sanders 31+5reb+7ast, V.Odinokov 12+2reb+1ast, T.Gerasimov 10+8reb+8ast, D.Sonko 9+1ast, S.Dolinin 6+4reb, S.Balashov 5+3reb+2ast
gschID: 1183744
MBA Moscow – Astana 73-49
The game between closely ranked teams ended with bottom-ranked Kazakhstan Astana‘s (0-18) road loss to eleventh ranked Russian MBA Moscow (5-13) 49-73 on Sunday. MBA Moscow forced 20 Astana turnovers and outrebounded them 46-33 including a 16-2 advantage in offensive rebounds. Point guard Makar Konovalov (189-2000, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) fired 15 points and 7 assists for the winners. Vladislav Trushkin (201-1993, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) chipped in 10 points and 7 rebounds. American-Nigerian guard Daniel Utomi (198-1997, college: USC) produced 16 points and guard Rustam Murzagaliyev (190-1992) added 11 points and 5 rebounds respectively for lost side. 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 Moscow maintains eleventh place with 5-13 record. Astana lost their eighteenth game in a row. They still close the standings. MBA Moscow’s supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Moscow to the arena .
Top scorers:
Astana: D.Utomi 16+4reb+1ast, R.Murzagaliyev 11+5reb+2ast, A.Desiatnikov 7+5reb+1ast, G.Smith 4+2reb, A.Maydekin 4+1reb, S.Abashidze 2
MBA Moscow: M.Konovalov 15+2reb+7ast, I.Belousov 11+2reb+2ast, V.Trushkin 10+7reb+1ast, A.Zubkov 9+5reb, E.Voronov 8+5reb+4ast, E.Minchenko 7+10reb
gschID: 1183745
Uralmash – Lokomotiv 83-90
Rather predictable result in Yekaterinburg where third ranked Lokomotiv (14-4) defeated 6th ranked Uralmash (8-10) 90-83 on Sunday. Lokomotiv looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Americans were the main players on the court. Swingman BJ Johnson (201-1995, college: La Salle) fired 21 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Guard Patrick Miller (185-1992, college: Tennessee St., agency: Slash Sports) chipped in 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Power forward Johnny O’Bryant III (207-1993, college: LSU, agency: Slash Sports) produced a double-double by scoring 16 points and 10 rebounds and forward Tyrell Nelson (205-1995, college: Gardner-Webb) added 13 points and 10 rebounds respectively for lost side. Four Uralmash players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Lokomotiv maintains third place with 14-4 record behind leader CSKA. Loser Uralmash keeps the sixth position with ten games lost. Lokomotiv will meet Parma-Pari (#9) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Uralmash will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Uralmash: J.Martin 19+4ast, J.O’Bryant III 16+10reb+2ast, T.Nelson 13+10reb+2ast, S.Whittaker 13+4reb+1ast, H.Dalton 9+3reb, V.Zaitcev 7+2reb+1ast
Lokomotiv: B.Johnson 21+9reb+3ast, P.Miller 19+5reb+7ast, A.Kvitkovskikh 14+6reb+2ast, A.Cleveland 8+3reb+6ast, K.Elatontsev 6+4reb+2ast, I.Whaley 6+7reb
gschID: 1183746
