With the introduction of the intra-season cup, Lokomotiv plays CSKA on average once a month this season. It was in the Winline Basket Cup that we played them last time, on March 11, and came close to our first victory over this opponent in 14 months: Patrick Miller gave us the lead with a minute and a half left, but Casper Ware hit a difficult 3-pointer and soon made it 93:89 from the free throw line. His 5’8″ height hasn’t stopped this point guard from being one of the VTB United League’s top stars for the past 5 seasons. In the 2025/26 season, he’s second on CSKA in scoring (11.9 points) and assists (3.1). Also, Ware is the most frequent 3-point shooter on his team (6 per game on average), hitting them with a 34.1% accuracy rate.
After that, CSKA traveled to Kazan, where they suffered their third defeat of the championship on March 15. UNICS controlled the game for most of the game, the red-and-blues got within 4 points with a minute and a half left, but then missed two 3-pointers that sealed the 86:80 victory of UNICS. However, Muscovites’ center, Livio Jean-Charles, had a strong performance, recording a double-double (18+10). The Frenchman has double-digit scoring this season (11.6 points), is second on the team in rebounds (4.6), and first in blocks (0.5).
Pretty shaky looked Andreas Pistiolis’s team at the start of also their next game–an away one against Avtodor on March 19. They were trailing 24:25 after the 1st quarter, but they soon recovered and secured a 105:67 win. This time, another of their center, Luka Mitrović (10+10), posted a double-double. The Serbian national team starter has already played 24 games in the VTB United League. He may not score as much (6.2 points), but he rebounds more than anyone else on the team (5.2) and assists well for a frontcourt player (1.8).
On March 22, BETCITY PARMA visited CSKA and seriously frayed the reigning champions’ nerves: the score was tied as early as the 33rd minute. But then the red-and-blues launched a 10:0 run and held on to that lead until the buzzer, 91:83. Another double-double ensued: Melo Trimble added 10 assists to his 16 points. Nikita Kurbanov, meanwhile, was the shadow hero of the game: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and an efficiency rating of 24. The power forward, who turns 40 in October, is averaging 17 minutes per game and has posted his best averages in the last five seasons in points (5.2), rebounds (3.8), and blocks (0.4).
Next, CSKA traveled to Yekaterinburg, where on March 26, they secured a hard-fought 79:76 victory over Uralmash. Melo Trimble (19 points) was a true leader that evening. The MVP of two months of the current season (November and January) currently shares 2nd-3rd place with Jalen Reynolds among the championship’s top scorers (18.1 points each), and is clearly first in efficiency (22.2 points; Alen Hadzibegovic has a higher efficiency rating in three games with Lokomotiv, 22.7, but if you add his numbers for Avtodor, the average drops to 20.7). In addition, Trimble is number 1 on CSKA in playing time (24.5 minutes), assists (4.1), steals (1.8), opponent fouls (5.9), and plus-minus (+13.4).
After Uralmash, our opponent played 3 more games, winning them by an average margin of +35 and scoring 100+ points each time. The first victim was MBA-MAI, 65:100, at home on March 29. Samson Ruzhentsev was the game’s top scorer (23 points). This season, the shooting guard is averaging 8.4 points with a 50% three-point shooting percentage (1.3 of 2.7 attempts per game).
Yenisei was in no mood for laughs on April 1st, losing 70:103 to CSKA. However, things started off quite well for the Krasnoyarsk team: they won the first half 41:38, and the game remained tied for another 5 minutes in the 3rd quarter, but then the red-and-blues showered their opponents with 3-pointers, totaling 18 from afar. Trimble (11 lang-range attempts), Ware (8 attempts), and Ivan Ukhov (6) each scored five times from the perimeter. The latter added 6 assists to his 18 points and currently is second among his teammates in 3-point percentage (46.5%) – 1.6 of 3.5 attempts – helping him average 7.8 points. Ukhov is also second on the team in steals (1.2) and plus-minus (+10.2).
Most recently, CSKA won in Samara, 109:72. Everything became clear at the end of the first quarter (34:10). All 12 players from the Moscow team got plenty of playing time, and Anton Astapkovich scored the most points (21). The small forward is one of just three players on our opponent’s team averaging more than 20 minutes per game (22; only Trimble and Ware have more). His average numbers of 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.3 blocks paint Astapkovich as a very versatile player. And his free throw accuracy is phenomenal – 98%.
The game will begin at 8:00 PM at the Megasport Arena in Moscow. Watch the live broadcast on our website. Go, Loko!