There are only two more rounds left in the Regular Season in VTB United League. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.
The most interesting game of round 43 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Nizhny Novgorod where eighth ranked Avtodor won against host N.Novgorod (17-24) 84-69. It was a great evening for Nigerian-Canadian Caleb Agada (196-1994, college: Ottawa, agency: Pensack Sports) who led his team to a victory scoring 11 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 9 steals. Turkish power forward Kerem Kanter (208-1995, college: Xavier) helped adding 13 points and 9 rebounds. At the losing side Montenegrin Nemanja Djurisic (202-1992, college: Georgia, agency: Slash Sports) responded with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Avtodor moved-up to seventh place, which they share with defeated N.Novgorod. N.Novgorod lost third consecutive game. Avtodor is looking forward to face MBA Moscow (#9) at home in the next round. N.Novgorod will play against the league’s second-placed CSKA having rather not much hope for a victory.
One of the most interesting games of round 43 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Moscow where second ranked CSKA outleveled visiting Samara (8-33) 103-66. It was an exceptional evening for Serbian guard Aleksa Avramovic (193-1994) who led the winners and scored 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Anton Astapkovich accounted for 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. CSKA’s coach felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. point guard Andrei Sopin (186-1997) came up with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for Samara in the defeat. CSKA maintains second place with 35-6 record behind leader Zenit. Samara lost twelfth consecutive game. They keep the eleventh position with 33 games lost. CSKA will play against N.Novgorod (#8) in Nizhny Novgorod in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Samara will play on the road against Enisey in Krasnoyarsk and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
One of the most interesting games of round 43 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Yekaterinburg where fifth ranked Uralmash won against visiting Parma-Pari (18-24) 80-76. Americans were the main players on the court. Hayden Dalton fired 21 points and 7 assists for the winners. Stanley Whittaker produced a double-double by scoring 19 points and 11 assists for lost side. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Uralmash have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain fifth place with 23-18 record. Parma-Pari at the other side dropped to the sixth position with 24 games lost. Uralmash will meet league’s leader Zenit in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Parma-Pari will play against the league’s leader Zenit (#1) in Saint Petersburg and hope to secure a win.
There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 43: bottom-ranked Astana was destroyed by Lokomotiv on the opponent’s court 102-82. MBA Moscow lost to Russian defending champion Zenit in a home game 84-88. UNICS recorded a loss to Lokomotiv on the road 82-94. Bottom-ranked Astana was crushed by Parma-Pari on its own court 56-87.
N.Novgorod – Avtodor 69-84
The most interesting game of round 43 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Nizhny Novgorod where eighth ranked Avtodor won against host N.Novgorod (17-24) 84-69. It was a great evening for Nigerian-Canadian Caleb Agada (196-1994, college: Ottawa, agency: Pensack Sports) who led his team to a victory scoring 11 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 9 steals. Turkish power forward Kerem Kanter (208-1995, college: Xavier) helped adding 13 points and 9 rebounds. Five Avtodor players scored in double figures. At the losing side Montenegrin Nemanja Djurisic (202-1992, college: Georgia, agency: Slash Sports) responded with 14 points and 6 rebounds and guard Evgenii Baburin (189-1987, agency: BIG) scored 20 points. Avtodor moved-up to seventh place, which they share with defeated N.Novgorod. N.Novgorod lost third consecutive game. Avtodor is looking forward to face MBA Moscow (#9) at home in the next round. N.Novgorod will play against the league’s second-placed CSKA having rather not much hope for a victory.
Top scorers:
N.Novgorod: E.Baburin 20+2reb, N.Djurisic 14+6reb+2ast, A.Chadov 9+6reb+1ast, I.Karpenkov 8+3reb+1ast, A.Hamilton 6+6reb+6ast, M.Rebec 5+3reb+7ast
Avtodor: J.Jones 14+4reb, K.Kanter 13+9reb+1ast, C.Manning Jr. 13+2reb+7ast, D.Beslac 12+5reb+1ast, C.Agada 11+8reb+8ast, V.Pranauskis 8+1ast
gschID: 1183883
CSKA – Samara 103-66
One of the most interesting games of round 43 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Moscow where second ranked CSKA outleveled visiting Samara (8-33) 103-66. CSKA outrebounded Samara 38-19 including a 27-16 advantage in defensive rebounds. CSKA players were unselfish on offense dishing 29 assists comparing to just 14 passes made by Samara‘s players. It was an exceptional evening for Serbian guard Aleksa Avramovic (193-1994) who led the winners and scored 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Belarusian forward Anton Astapkovich (202-1994) accounted for 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side. Four CSKA players scored in double figures. CSKA’s coach felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Point guard Andrei Sopin (186-1997) came up with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and guard Mikhail Kulagin (191-1994) added 19 points respectively for Samara in the defeat. CSKA maintains second place with 35-6 record behind leader Zenit. Samara lost twelfth consecutive game. They keep the eleventh position with 33 games lost. CSKA will play against N.Novgorod (#8) in Nizhny Novgorod in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Samara will play on the road against Enisey in Krasnoyarsk and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Samara: M.Kulagin 19+3ast, A.Sopin 17+5reb+5ast, E.Amosov 11+4reb+4ast, A.Prokhorov 6+2reb, G.Marufov 5+3reb, I.Platonov 4+1reb
CSKA: A.Avramovic 16+8reb+7ast, M.Trimble 14+2reb, V.Karpenko 13+2reb+3ast, L.Jean-Charles 12+6reb+1ast, A.Astapkovich 10+5reb+5ast, N.Mikhailovskii 9+2reb+3ast
gschID: 1183884
Uralmash – Parma-Pari 80-76
One of the most interesting games of round 43 was a derby match between two teams from Russia. The game took place in Yekaterinburg where fifth ranked Uralmash won against visiting Parma-Pari (18-24) 80-76. Uralmash looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Americans were the main players on the court. Hayden Dalton (204-1996, college: Wyoming, agency: Slash Sports) fired 21 points and 7 assists for the winners. Forward Javonte Douglas (203-1992, college: Montevallo) chipped in a double-double by scoring 17 points and 13 rebounds. Point guard Stanley Whittaker (183-1994, college: Keiser) produced a double-double by scoring 19 points and 11 assists and center Royce Hamm Jr (206-1999, college: UNLV, agency: MSG) added 21 points and 8 rebounds (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) respectively for lost side. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Uralmash have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain fifth place with 23-18 record. Parma-Pari at the other side dropped to the sixth position with 24 games lost. Uralmash will meet league’s leader Zenit in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Parma-Pari will play against the league’s leader Zenit (#1) in Saint Petersburg and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Parma-Pari: R.Hamm Jr. 21+8reb+1ast, S.Whittaker 19+3reb+11ast, S.Ruzhentsev 15+6reb, A.Shashkov 7+2reb+1ast, A.Zakharov 5+2reb, S.Ilnitskiy 4+6reb
Uralmash: H.Dalton 21+4reb+7ast, J.Douglas 17+13reb+1ast, J.Martin 13+3reb+5ast, Y.Beliankou 7+2reb, V.Ivlev 6+5reb+1ast, I.Popov 6+1reb+2ast
gschID: 1183885
Lokomotiv – Astana 102-82
Very expected game in Krasnodar where 12th ranked Kazakhstan Astana (2-40) was crushed by fourth ranked Russian Lokomotiv (31-11) 102-82 on Wednesday. Lokomotiv forced 23 Astana turnovers and had a 19-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. Lokomotiv looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. Andrei Martiuk fired a double-double by scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. Guard Vladislav Emchenko (195-1999) chipped in 17 points. Lokomotiv’s coach let to play all 12 players and allowed the starting five to rest. American-Nigerian guard Daniel Utomi (198-1997, college: USC) produced 18 points and Russian guard Grigory Motovilov (191-1998) added 12 points and 6 assists respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Lokomotiv have a solid series of four victories in a row. They maintain fourth place with 31-11 record. Astana lost third consecutive game. They stay dead last with 40 lost games. Lokomotiv will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Astana will play against UNICS (#3) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Astana: D.Utomi 18+4reb+1ast, G.Smith 13+2reb+1ast, G.Motovilov 12+4reb+6ast, A.Desiatnikov 12+7reb+2ast, R.Murzagaliyev 9+3reb+5ast, A.Maydekin 8+1reb
Lokomotiv: M.Vedishchev 17+1reb+2ast, V.Emchenko 17+2reb+2ast, A.Martiuk 15+10reb, T.McCall 10+2reb+7ast, I.Whaley 9+2reb+2ast, A.Kvitkovskikh 9+3reb+2ast
gschID: 1183886
MBA Moscow – Zenit 84-88
Very predictable result when first ranked Zenit (36-5) defeated on the road 9th ranked MBA Moscow (14-27) 88-84 on Thursday. Zenit forced 22 MBA Moscow turnovers. American Dwayne Bacon (201-1995, college: FSU) fired 23 points and 4 assists for the winners. Alexey Shved (198-1988) chipped in 22 points and 7 assists. Andrey Zubkov (206-1991) produced 14 points and 7 rebounds and guard Maxim Lichutin (189-2000) added 17 points respectively for lost side. Four MBA Moscow players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Zenit have an impressive series of eighteen victories in a row. Defending Russian champion maintains first place with 36-5 record. Loser MBA Moscow keeps the ninth position with 27 games lost. Zenit will meet at home Parma-Pari (#6) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. MBA Moscow will play against Avtodor in Saratov and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
MBA Moscow: M.Lichutin 17+1reb+3ast, M.Konovalov 16+3ast, A.Zubkov 14+7reb+2ast, D.Pevnev 10+7reb, E.Minchenko 7+6reb, I.Belousov 6
Zenit: D.Bacon 23+3reb+4ast, A.Shved 22+7ast, A.Poythress 16+7reb+1ast, O.White 7+2reb+2ast, A.Vorontsevich 6+9reb, T.Frazier 4+1reb+3ast
gschID: 1183887
Lokomotiv – UNICS 94-82
We cannot really consider it an upset in the game between close teams in Krasnodar where 3rd placed UNICS (34-8) was defeated by fourth ranked Lokomotiv (31-11) 94-82 on Saturday. Lokomotiv looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. Andrei Martiuk fired 23 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. American guard Patrick Miller (185-1992, college: Tennessee St., agency: Slash Sports) chipped in 17 points and 5 assists. American center Jalen Reynolds (208-1992, college: Xavier) produced 23 points and 8 rebounds and Belgian center Ismael Bako (208-1995) added 18 points and 11 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) respectively for lost side. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Lokomotiv have a solid series of four victories in a row. They maintain fourth place with 31-11 record. Loser UNICS keeps the third position with eight games lost. Lokomotiv will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. UNICS will play against Astana in Nur-Sultan and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
UNICS: J.Reynolds 23+8reb+1ast, I.Bako 18+11reb+1ast, D.Akoon-Purcell 14+5reb+2ast, L.Labeyrie 8+2reb, A.Lopatin 7+3reb+1ast, D.Kulagin 3+5reb+3ast
Lokomotiv: A.Martiuk 23+9reb+3ast, P.Miller 17+3reb+5ast, A.Cleveland 15+4reb+3ast, I.Whaley 9+11reb+3ast, V.Emchenko 9+1reb+3ast, T.McCall 8+1reb+3ast
gschID: 1183888
Astana – Parma-Pari 56-87
Everything went according to plan in Nur-Sultan where eighth ranked Russian Parma-Pari (18-24) outscored bottom-ranked Kazakhstan Astana (2-40) 87-56 on Saturday. Parma-Pari dominated down low during the game scoring 50 of its points in the paint compared to Astana‘s 30 and made 22-of-27 free shots (81.5 percent) during the game. They outrebounded Astana 48-29 including a 35-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. American point guard Stanley Whittaker (183-1994, college: Keiser) fired 15 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists (made all of his nine free throws !!!) for the winners. His fellow American import center Royce Hamm Jr (206-1999, college: UNLV, agency: MSG) chipped in a double-double by scoring 14 points and 13 rebounds. Five Parma-Pari players scored in double figures. American guard TJ Starks (188-1998, college: CSUN) produced 10 points and 5 rebounds and guard Vadim Chsherbak (194-1993) added 7 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. Parma-Pari moved-up to sixth place. Astana lost third consecutive game. They stay dead last with 40 lost games. Parma-Pari will meet league’s leader Zenit in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Astana will play against UNICS (#3) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Astana: T.Starks 10+5reb+1ast, R.Murzagaliyev 9+1reb+2ast, A.Maydekin 9+4reb, V.Chsherbak 7+5reb+1ast, G.Motovilov 5+3reb+3ast, A.Orazbekov 5+2reb+2ast
Parma-Pari: G.Nevels 15+4reb+2ast, S.Whittaker 15+7reb+8ast, R.Hamm Jr. 14+13reb, S.Ruzhentsev 13+6reb+1ast, G.Tuchkov 11+2reb+1ast, L.Svinin 7+1reb
gschID: 1183889