With 5 wins in 19 games, MBA-MAI currently occupies the penultimate place in the VTB United League. Our opponent played their previous game on Sunday against CSKA. For 2.5 quarters, the less titled Moscow team managed to stay on par, but then CSKA switched on second gear and took the victory without any visible difficulties – 84:67.
The undisputed leader of MBA-MAI this season is Andrey Zubkov (who, let us recall, began his career in Lokomotiv). The forward is second in the whole league in rebounds (7.4) and shares 2-3 place with Melo Trimble in average efficiency.
Another MBA-MAI power forward, Vladislav Trushkin, is also good this season. He is in the Top-3 on his team in all five main statistical indicators.
At the league level, MBA-MAI point guard Makar Konovalov stands out – he is second in the championship in assists (5.6).
It will be the 8th time the opponents face each other. MBA-MAI won the first two games, Lokomotiv won the next five.
This season, they played on September 29 in Moscow. Krasnodar quickly took the lead – 37:23 by the end of the 1st quarter, and quite confidently repelled their opponents’ attempts to drag the game into a clutch – 93:85.
Five Loko players scored more than 10 points that evening, but Antonius Cleveland demonstrated the best efficiency (23), making a line of 9 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. Zubkov was the best for MBA-MAI – 19+9.
Lokomotiv Kuban had been preparing for the upcoming match for almost a week. On Sunday, Andrey Martyuk and Vsevolod Ishchenko got some extra game practice – they were sent to play for the OSSR-Loko, the Superleague team. In the game against Dynamo Grozny, Martyuk scored 18 points and made 9 rebounds, Ishchenko added 8 rebounds and 6 assists to his 11 points. The result was a confident victory for the Krasnodar reserves, 87:59.
By the way, OSSR-Loko will also play in Basket Hall on December 18 – at 2:30 PM against Zenit-2, the leader in the Superleague. We invite fans to attend this match as well – admission is free.
And the game between Loko and MBA-MAI can be seen live on the Krasnodar and Start TV channels, as well as on the VTB United League website. But we are waiting for you in the stands!