Loko vs CSKA: the game of the week

The most anticipated game of the week of the VTB United League will take place on March 10 at 2 PM in the Krasnodar Basket Hall. Loko's opponent is CSKA Moscow.

The sold-out, announced five days before the game, confirms the level of anticipation for the game. Will Loko extend its winning streak against the most titled Russian club is the main question ahead of it.

Disposition

CSKA is 2^nd now, and Loko is 4^th, trailing Zenit only in additional terms. If the Moscow team succeeds in Krasnodar, they will be equal on points with the leading UNICS, who lost to PARMA in a tense match at Saturday. Loko, in turn, may come very close to CSKA, if its successful series against Muscovites will continue.

All the results are in favor of Loko. CSKA lost four times in a row – to Zenit, PARMA and twice to UNICS. The Krasnodar team in the same period had 2-2. Moreover, Loko defeats CSKA every single time since May 1, 2023. This includes the victory in the 7^th game of the semi-finals, the VTB United League Super Cup, and two games in the current regular season.

Their leaders

It is a bit naive to point out someone in the CSKA stellar lineup – on any day, each player can rule the game. In general, under the rule of Emil Rajković, they play as a real team, and calling one of the players a leader now can only be a stretch. However, there is something to be said about personnel changes.

Casper Ware is out with an injury, and Olivier Hanlan has made his debut for CSKA. The Canadian guard scores just 6 points in 18 minutes against UNICS, but there is no reason to underestimate the best sniper of the Italian league.

I often say that the next game will be very tough, but this time it’s something special. The game against CSKA will be very, very, very tough. They are in a bad series of 4 losses, we’ve beaten then several times in a row, so they definitely will come all-in to this game. We need to be ready for the hard fight. This game will be about high contact level, about toughness, about great ball movement for all 40 minutes. We should not think that the victory is ours because we’ve won before. The wounded wolf is the most dangerous. That’s why we need to be ready. Their main guy, Casper Ware, is injured. And our coaching staff is fully prepared for what they can offer us without Ware. We know everything about their new guy, Olivier Hanlan. But CSKA is a very experienced team: Livio Jean-Charles, Tony Jekiri, Nikita Kurbanov is back. We must go out with the toughness, with high intensity and defensive mindset. We play in front of our fans – they are the best fans in the league, they always push us forward. It will be a great pleasure to play in front of them, so we’ll do our best.

Jurica Žuža, Loko assistant coach

Where to watch

Krasnodar TV, “Match! Igra” and “Start” TV channels, lokobasket.com and VTB United League website.