The Take
It’s too early to speak about the next stage of the championship and desirable opponents in Top-16. However, at the moment Limoges CSP takes the first place in Group B standings. It defeated Cedevita with a bigger point spread than Loko beat Gdynia.
In the first EuroCup game of the season, Lokomotiv Kuban struggled through some difficulties. The new team needed three quarters to feel and understand each other.
After the faltering game in Poland, fans expected a tough rivalry in the opener of the VTB United League against Zenit. As a result, the St. Petersburg team got -32 and went home in shock.
The Opponent
We predicted a year ago that Axel Bouteille would be a leader of new Limoges. In the first game of the season against Cedevita, he got 24 points and 5 rebounds. William Howard added 21+8!
They are the only offensive combination of players which got 20+ points by each. Of course, there is also Ankara but they lost the game to Zenit.
Loko
Krasnodar has no clear leader in statistics at the moment. And it’s great! However, we could say that Mateusz Ponitka stole the show in Poland (13 points, 4 rebounds). He grabbed the ball in defense, stole the ball lying on the court, and made important burst at the end of the game.
Nevertheless, statistically, Isaiah Whitehead was better. Brooklyn’s son got 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and… 6 turnovers. Isaiah is still looking for his European basketball. However, even now, he is one of challengers for MVP of the season.
Quotes
Where-When
Lokomotiv Kuban vs. Limoges CSP game takes place in Krasnodar on October 10th at 8:00 p.m. Moscow time.
Broadcasting
Lokobasket.com
Euroleague.tv
Previously in EuroCup
Lokomotiv and Limoges played last season. Lokomotiv won both games – 61-63 in France and 81-55 at home.