CSKA vs Loko: the chance to catch up the Moscow team

Today Lokomotiv-Kuban will face CSKA. The game will take place in Moscow, starting at 19:30.

Loko arrived in the capital on Saturday, devoting Sunday to recovery and evening training.

Disposition

Today CSKA will complete its four-game home series. Emil Rajković’s team started it off well, confidently beating PARMA (97:72), but then lost twice. First, they failed to cope with Yenisey (66:72), and then lost to Zenit in a dramatic ending (91:92). However, CSKA is still at the Top-2, and in case of today’s success they will be ahead of UNICS in the tournament race.

Alexander Sekulić’s team also had a series of home games. They completed it last week, winning two games out of three. Loko beat PARMA (89:85) and the current champion UNICS (90:82). The only misfire happened in the game against today’s opponent (96:82) in the middle of March. That time Loko lost the lead in the final period of regulation time and lost in extra time. Now the Krasnodar team is 4th in the tournament, but they have one more game to play.

After yesterday’s victory of PARMA over UNICS, maths gives absolutely equal chances to the first four teams to win in the regular season. And in case of today’s victory, Loko will level with CSKA in the standings. Keeping in mind that Krasnodar team have won 2 of 3 game against Muscovites this season, everything is possible.

Their leaders

CSKA leading scorer Casper Ware is still recovering from his injury. In his absence, Melo Trimble took over the role of first violin.

Melo’s 26 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the recent Krasnodar game are a good reason to pay maximum attention to this American defender this evening. Canadian Olivier Hanlan joined the Moscow team recently, and in Krasnodar he was still adapting to a new tournament, but the potential of the best sniper of the Italian league is high, which he demonstrated by averaging 13 points in the following three games.

CSKA is the leader of the league in terms of scoring. Variability in the attack is fulfilled through the plenitude of great players at each position. It is the balance between the front and back lines that allows Emil Rajković’s team to act effectively in attack.

Both teams know each other very well. Every game is crucial for us and for them. While Casper Ware is out with injury, Melo Trimble is their main man now. But they have good deep roster. Livio Jean-Charles plays good in the last games, new guy Olivier Hanlan is doing well, Nikita Kurbanov is very useful in rotation. So, we need to jump on them, we need to be ready for a tough contact game. Our mentality must be defensive this evening, we need to play like we did against UNICS, because CSKA also plays very

Jurica Žuža, Lokomotiv Kuban PBC assistant coach

Our jokers

Loko went to Moscow with the optimal lineup. Including forward Anton Kvitkovskikh who have fully recovered from an injury received on January. He took part in the game against Dynamo Vladivostok in the Superliga. Anton played 25 minutes, scored 10 points and made 5 rebounds.

For Loko newcomer Patrick Miller, the game against CSKA will be his second in the VTB United League. The point guard made a powerful debut in Loko’s home game against UNICS, scoring 9 points and making 6 assists.

Where to watch

On Krasnodar, Match, and Start TV channels. Also online on lokobasket.com and the VTB United league official site.