The Take
A game with no impact on the standings will close Group C in Russia when group winner Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (9-0) welcomes already-eliminated Partizan NIS Belgrade (1-8). Both teams will be playing for pride as their respective fates have been sealed before this game.
In their only other previous encounter ever, Loko won on the road, 83-93, behind 23 points from Joe Ragland. Ragland (14.2 ppg., 5.3 apg.) joins Ryan Broekhoff (12.2 ppg., 5.4 rpg.) and Trevor Lacey (10.5 ppg.) as the team’s offensive leaders.
For Partizan, Nigel Williams-Goss (17.8 ppg., 6.8 apg.) and Patrick Miller (17.4 ppg.) join Vanja Marinkovic (12.1 ppg.) as the main men. This game pits the weakest defense in the league (Partizan’s 94.7 ppg.) against the best (Loko’s 72.2 ppg.), so the abysmal difference between the numbers could give clues about how the game could develop.
As one could expect from their perfect record, the hosts are among the top performers in many categories. Partizan, as always, is a team mostly comprised of young players who can get valuable experience from every game at this level, especially one in Krasnodar that won’t be easy, especially thanks to the long trip. New coach Nenad Canak will have to try to get the most out of this game as his team plays for prestige, while Loko will try to keep the nice momentum going as the Top 16 gets closer.
Quotes
The game takes place in Krasnodar on December 27th at 8:00 p.m.