Loko vs CSKA, the toughest opponent available

On February 22, Lokomotiv Kuban will host the leader and current champion, CSKA.

Our opponent comes to Krasnodar on a 20-game winning streak (16 in the VTB United League, 4 in the intra-season cup). CSKA’s last loss was over 3 months ago, to UNICS in Kazan on November 15 (75:76). Their winning streak also includes two games against Loko. On December 5, they beat us in overtime (90:95), tying the game with 0.6 seconds left before the 4th quarter buzzer. On December 25, in the cup game, the score was also decided in the very end, and, unfortunately, not in our favor (81:89).

In both of these games, Melo Trimble led CSKA in scoring (35 and 27 points). No matter how much we love Patrick Miller, Vince Hunter, Anton Kvitkovskikh, and Vsevolod Ishchenko, it is Trimble who should be considered the VTB United League’s top star right now. The playoff MVP of the previous 2 seasons has also been playing exceptionally well this season – he’s 1st in the league in efficiency (23.8 points) and 2nd in scoring (18.8 points). He leads his team in assists (4.2), steals (1.9), opponent fouls (6.1 per game), and box plus/minus (+13.0).

CSKA’s second-highest plus/minus has center Luka Mitrović (+10.4). The player leads his team in rebounds (4.7) and commits the most fouls (2.6 per game). His stats also include 6.7 points, 1.7 assists, and 0.2 blocks. During the upcoming international break, Mitrović has been called up to the Serbian national team (where, as a reminder, Lokomotiv coach Tomislav Tomović serves as an assistant coach).

Let’s take a closer look at some key CSKA players we haven’t told of in previous previews. Shooting guard Antonius Cleveland is gradually regaining the form that helped him earn the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award last season. He’s averaging 9.0 points per 18 minutes with elite 3-point accuracy (43.8% – 1.0 on 2.3 attempts per game), 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks.

The depth of our opponent’s roster is clearly showed by the fact that shooting guard Samson Ruzhentsev is one of only four CSKA players (besides Trimble, Casper Ware, and Anton Astapkovich) averaging more than 20 minutes per game. Ruzhentsev has the 3rd-best plus/minus on the team (+9.5) and the most accurate long-range shot (49.3% – 1.4 of 2.8), which helps him average 8.3 points, along with 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks.

CSKA’s 2nd-most accurate long-range shot belongs to power forward Alexander Chadov (47.8%, 0.6 out of 1.2). The 24-year-old product of the Nizhny Novgorod basketball school currently plays just under 10 minutes per game, but strives to make the most of every second of that time, averaging 3.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.5 steals.

CSKA has many top players, but their greatest strength is the teamwork. Most of them have been playing together for several years, and their coach has done an excellent job over the past two seasons, so they know what to do in almost any situation. We'll need to maintain our focus throughout the entire game. When I say "throughout the game," I mean every single possession—both ours and opponent's. We must be at our best, especially defensively. This is the key to a good result. I'd be happy to see as many people as possible at the stands. We really appreciate the support from our fans; this energy gives us extra strength. We'll give it our all against CSKA, fighting for every ball – and I hope Lokomotiv's fans will appreciate that.

Tomislav Tomović, the head coach at Lokomotiv Kuban PBC

Please note that the game will start earlier than usual on weekends, at 1:00 PM. The doors of the Basket Hall will open to fans at 11:30 AM. See you in the stands!

Go, Loko!