Lokomotiv Kuban vs. Trento. EuroCup. Preview

On January 10th, Lokomotiv Kuban holds its first home game in 2018 against Trento in EuroCup. The rivals won their first games in Top-16. It means the defeated team will have to deal with losing a top position in the standings of Group G for a while.

The Take

After Round 1 of Eurocup Top-16, Trento and Lokomotiv Kuban are leaders of Group G. Trento has a 5-game winning series in EuroCup, including wins over Zenit (103:81), Gran Canaria (79:76) and Cedevita (83:72). Trento is in Top-10 of the best scoring teams. The Italians averagely allow 85.1 points (the 7th place in EuroCup) and score 83. Only Bayern and Fiat can compare with Trento in steals (8.8 per game). Even though the Italians play fast basketball, they commit few turnover – 12 per game (Top-3 in EuroCup).

However, the main drawback of the team is free throws. They are the worst team on EuroCup in the stats – 65.2 per cent averagely.

Lokomotiv is the only team in EuroCup, which hasn’t lost a game this season. Obradovic’s team allow 67.5 points per game and scores 84.6.

Krasnodar’s start in Top-16 was quite fussy. However, Loko defeated Buducnost and won its 11th game in a row. Now our team is ready to extend the series at home.

Joe Ragland (12.8 ppg. and 5.0 apg.) Ryan Broekhoff (12.4 ppg., 5.7 rpg.) and Trevor Lacey (9.4 ppg.) lead the Lokomotiv attack.

Trento looks to Dominique Sutton (16.5 ppg., 6.3 rpg.) – who was sidelined last week, but should be back – as its leader alongside Shavon Shields (13.2 ppg.) and Jorge Gutierrez (11.8 ppg.).

Quotes

- They are a very good basketball team who plays great on both ends. They are very athletic with many players of the same size, who can play well on all positions. They have been playing great in the last month as they won 9 in a row before the last game. We should be very focused to beat an atypical opponent to stay undefeated.

Sasa Obradovic, Head Coach of PBC Lokomotiv Kuban:

- After the road game against CSKA, we are at a high ebb emotionally. We have only two days for full recovery. Trento is a tough team that shows good results in EuroCup. They have a wide range of athletic players who can show fast and aggressive basketball. Sutton is especially notable. He plays on all positions, he’s very dangerous in the paint and can play center with his 196-cm height. Trento scores a lot in fast breaks and takes many offensive rebounds. We have to slow down their rhythm.

Stanislav Ilnitsky, Forward of PBC Lokomotiv Kuban:

The game takes place in Krasnodar on January 10th at 7:00 p.m. Moscow time.