The Take
This season of the VTB United League is one of the most exciting in its history. First of all, it concerns the lower limit of the play-off zone. Two last places (if Khimki doesn’t lose all games of the season) can be taken by 7 teams. And even Enisey with three wins can do that.
Tsmoki are ready to do their best to advance to play-offs. However, they are the worst offensive team in the season – 71.8 points per game. But PARMA allowed 88 points from them last round and lost the game. It’s Minsk’s second best result in the season. Nizhny Novgorod allowed 91 points.
Lokomotiv Kuban played in the VTB United League on March 3rd last time in Kazan and was defeated by UNICS.
However, Krasnodar had no time to be depressed. Loko won two games in EuroCup quarterfinals against Gran Canaria in a row.
After a long trip to the Atlantic Ocean and back, Loko had enough time to recover.
In the VTB United League, Lokomotiv Kuban takes the 3rd place in the standings. Sasa Obradovic’s team is the best in defense (71.6 allowed points) and takes the fifth place in offense (84.3 points).
Minsk has three best scorers who outstand in the team. Christofer Czerapowicz averages 12.8 points per game, Devon Saddler – 11.9, David Kravish – 11.2.
Czerapowicz showed the top performance of the week against PARMA.
Lokomotiv brings MVP of EuroCup quarterfinals to Minsk – Dmitry Kulagin. The guard scored 52 points against Canaria (32 points on the road).
Pavel Antipov and Vladimir Ivlev returned on court after missing the series against Gran Canaria. The upcoming game will be a spring-board for them to come back to the rhythm.
Jonas Maciulis, a new player of Loko, also arrived in Minsk. The Lithuanian forward has to replace Ryan Broekhoff who got an injury. All fans are looking forward to his debut.
In the VTB United League, the most effective player of Loko is Mardy Collins. He averages 14.3 points, 3.4 assists, and 4.6 rebounds.
Lokomotiv Kuban plays against Tsmoki Minsk on the road on March 17th at 6:00 p.m. Moscow time. Broadcasting on Lokobasket.com
Coach: Alexander Krutikov
Founded: 2006
Arena: Minsk Arena
Capacity: 15000
Colors: blue, white
Website: bc-tsmoki.by
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