Since October 29, when Lokomotiv Kuban won 91:67 in Saratov, Avtodor has lost 9 more games, totalling their losing streak to 13. But the Volga team is approaching our Sunday game in good mood: on December 20, they defeated Samara in overtime (102:99), and on the 24th, they beat Uralmash (73:67). Impressive fact: Milenko Bogičević‘s team played both of those games with an 8-man rotation, and against Uralmash, our Academy graduate Ilya Anufriev made his VTB United League debut, playing for 1 minute and 9 seconds.
In their previous game, Avtodor was missing injured players Malik Newman (18.5 points this season), Dusan Beslač (13.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.6 blocks), Grigori Motovilov (7.4 assists, 2.6 assists), and team captain Artyom Klimenko (6.5 rebounds, 4.8 rebounds). Still, there’s a chance of seeing any of these four in Krasnodar, but the same definitely can’t be said about shooting guard Terrence Edwards. The 23-year-old American left for his home country during the November international break and informed the club that he would never return to Saratov.
With so many players missing, others take leadership roles. Point guard Vitalijus Pranauskis scored 22 points against Samara and 25 against Uralmash. He leads Avtodor in assists (3.2) and 3-point accuracy among those who make more than one attempt per game (44.7% – 0.9 of 2.1). Pranauskis averages 7.8 points per game.
Alen Hadzibegovic recorded a double-double (19+11) against Samara, and was just one rebound short of the same against Uralmash (22+9). The Montenegrin center is 7th in the league in points (17.2), first in rebounds (8.4), third in blocks (1.2), and tied for 2nd or 3rd place with our Vince Hunter in steals (1.8). Hadzibegovic isn’t among the league’s top assist-per-game players, but his 1.8 assists are still great for a frontcourt player.
Two players loaned in December have fit in well with the Saratov team already. Small forward Daniil Kasko has moved from Lokomotiv. The 21-year-old Belarusian has played 3 games for his new team, averaging 4.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks per 29 minutes on the court. Currently, Kasko is Avtodor’s only player with a positive plus/minus (+4.0). It’s worth noting, however, that he was forced out of 2 of those 3 games early due to foul trouble.
FromZenit, the Saratov club has loaned small forward Pavel Zemsky. He has played 2 games for Avtodor so far, averaging 13.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steals.
Small forward Igor Volkhin is also on loan to Avtodor from Zenit, but from the very start of the 2025/26 season. The winner of the Three-Point Contest at the 2018 VTB United League Young Stars Game and the 2021/22 season champion is in the starting lineup more often than any other player on the Saratov team (17 times), averaging 9.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 1.1 steals.
Alexander Yevseyev is the main “sixth man” on our opponent’s current roster. A native of Saratov, he played for CSKA Moscow from the age of 12, was the MVP of the 2020/21 VTB United Youth League Final Eight, and last season won a Superliga runner-up title with Anton Yudin as a coach at CSKA-2. For Avtodor, Yevseyev averages 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds.
When we talk about Lokomotiv Kuban players who previously were at Avtodor, the first one who comes to mind is Anton Kvitkovskikh, whose professional career started at the Saratov club. Vince Hunter also spent a season with the Volga team in 2016/17. Back then, he was 2nd on his team in points (14.7) and steals (1.4), leading in rebounds (7.7) and blocks (1.2). Hunter‘s teammates included Sergei Bykov, Anton Astapkovich, Maxim Kolyushkin, Artyom Klimenko (who still plays for Avtodor), and a very young 16-year-old named Anton Kvitkovskikh. The head coach of that team was Vladimir Antsiferov, who is coaching Lokomotiv U19 team now.
See you at the Basket Hall on December 28th! The game starts at 4:00 PM, and the arena will open to spectators at 2:30 PM.
Go, Loko! Let’s conclude the year with a victory!