The game on the banks of the Neva will take place earlier than it was originally scheduled. The ice hockey SKA team will play its first home match at the new Arena, so, at the request of fans who wanted to catch both games, the starting time of Zenit vs Loko was shifted to 13:00.
Disposition
The second stage of the championship is a fight for more advantageous positions in the playoffs. Loko have beaten Zenit in both matches during the first stage, but now everything starts with tabula rasa and it’s better to forget about past achievements. Group “A” contains the six best teams of the championship, so there is no doubt that every match will be hard and uncompromising.
Loko is now on the 3rd place, and it was Zenit who lost this position at the very end of the first stage. The Krasnodar team made a powerful run, winning 9 games of 10. St.-Peterburgians, on the contrary, lost 3 games of 5.
Their leaders
Zenit seems to have the most experienced roster in the VTB United League, and it is headed by a very smart Spanish specialist, Javier Pascual.
In general, Zenit has enough strong performers in all lines. Their main attack architect is Thomas Heurtel. Since the beginning of the season, the Frenchman has been leading the league by the number of assists per game – 8.0. Trent Fraser is always there to sufficiently substitute Heurtel with 4.0 assists per match. Considering that this pair scores almost 30 points together, their influence on Zenit’s game is hard to overestimate.
Scorers Serguei Karasev, Kyle Kuric and Igor Volkhin will stretch Loko’s defense. The unyielding Georgi Zhbanov will definitely try to become a headache for Loko’s point guards. But what will happen without any doubt is a heated confrontation between the front lines of tomorrow’s opponents. Vince Hunter showed a strong performance at the end of the first stage of the championship, and, as practice shows, this experienced center plays even brighter as the playoffs approach.
Where to watch
TV channels “Krasnodar” and “Match!”; lokobasket.com and the VTB United League website.
Let us remind you, that Loko is organizing a joint viewing of the upcoming match for its fans. Details are HERE.