The Moscow club currently has the longest winning streak – five. With a 6-1 record, CSKA is tied for 1st and 2nd place with UNICS, slightly behind Kazan on additional parameters. However, in their head-to-head game, CSKA confidently won, 86:75.
Lokomotiv’s current winning streak is a bit more modest – 2, but still it is a winning streak. Our team is tied for 3rd and 5th place with Zenit and MBA-MAI, and a win today would draw us level with CSKA.
CSKA ranks among the league’s Top 3 in many team statistics: they are 2nd in points scored (87.4), points allowed (74.4), 2-point percentage (55.7%) and 3-point percentage (38.8%); 3rd in assists (20.9) and steals (7.7). However, none of their players is among the league’s Top 5 in individual statistics, with the exception of Antonius Cleveland, with his steals (1.7, 4th in the league). This speaks to the depth of our opponent’s roster.
Their playing time distribution speaks of is much louder: 10 CSKA players are averaging more than 14 minutes this season, but only 3 are averaging more than 20.
The leader in playing time (as well as several other stats) is Melo Trimble. In the current championship, the point guard scores the most points on the team (14.0), makes the most assists (5.0), collects 6.0 fouls, and also has the highest plus-minus (+10.3).
Small forward Anton Astapkovich averages nearly 23.5 minutes per game. He’s scoring 8.6 points, shooting a stellar 54.2% from 3-point line (1.9 of 3.4 attempts) and leading the team in rebounds (5.1). He’s also averaging 3.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks.
Their third one to play over 20 minutes is another point guard, Casper Ware. His stats are 8.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 0.1 steals (which seems like a statistical anomaly, as he’s had significantly more steals in previous seasons).
CSKA’s second-leading scorer is center Livio Jean-Charles, with 12.0 points. 2.1 of his 4.3 rebounds are grabbed in offence; the Frenchman also leads the team in blocks (0.9), and makes an impressive 1.4 steals.
But Cleveland, as we’ve already mentioned, makes even more steals – 1.7. The shooting guard, who played for Loko last season, is scoring in double figures for CSKA (10.9), is second on the team in assists (3.3), grabs 1.4 rebounds, and blocks 0.6 shots.
Returning from a year-long loan to Perm, shooting guard Samson Ruzhentsev is playing excellent basketball: 9.3 points, the team’s best 3-point accuracy (54.5% – 1.7 hits out of 3.1 attempts), a plus/minus almost like Trimble‘s (+10.0), and a firm place in the starting lineup.
Shooting guard Ivan Ukhov is almost always in the starting five (6 times in 7 games). He averages 7.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.7 steals per game.
Center Tonye Jekiri is a powerful addition to CSKA’s frontcourt coming off the bench. He’s averaging 19.5 minutes per game, performing 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.7 steals. The 213-centimeter Nigerian hasn’t recorded a block this season, which also seems like a statistical anomaly.
A pair of well-experienced power forwards plays 14 minutes a game this season for CSKA. The only player in our league older than Nikita Kurbanov is Yevgeny Voronov of MBA-MAI. Kurbanov, who turned 39 a month ago, continues to be an important part of the team’s defense, also averaging 3.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 0.6 3-pointers on 1.3 attempts (44.4%).
CSKA captain Semyon Antonov is slightly younger at 36. He’s also just as skilled and tenacious defensively as Kurbanov. His stats are also very similar: 3.4 points (46.2% on threes – 0.9 of 1.9), 2.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks.
Overall, the opponent is tough—maybe the toughest one since the start of the season. But, for sure, they’re beatable. As a reminder, Lokomotiv and CSKA defeated each other twice last season. You may also remember our victory over them in the 7-game 2022/23 semifinals. Anton Kvitkovskikh and Kirill Yelatontsev are currently with the Krasnodar team from that roster. Yelatontsev stayed on the bench in Game 7, while Kvitkovskikh played all the crucial minutes, including overtime.
- Anton, how often do you recall Game 7 of the 2022/23 semifinals?
- Well, it happens time to time. When I talk to guys from other teams or with fans, they often bring it up. But I try not to dwell on it myself – what's done is done, every game is a new game.
- What is the recipe of beating CSKA at their arena?
- Concentration for the entire 40 minutes—or even more if there's overtime. Aggressive defense, confidence in the offense, and trusting the teammates. We're improving from practice to practice, from game to game, with more and more guys taking charge in important moments of the game. We want to win, and we know how to do it. Now it's all up to us.
In conclusion, let’s look at the statistics. Since the inception of the VTB United League. Lokomotiv Kuban has beaten CSKA 19 times, while CSKA has beaten us 42 times. Therefore, a victory would mark our club’s 20th victory over that opponent. Let’s do it! Go Loko!