Wednesday, February 27
PARMA Russia – Astana Kazakhstan
Time: 7:30 PM (5:30 MSK)
Place: Molot Sports Palace, Perm, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
PARMA: The meeting with Astana has big implications for Perm. With a win, PARMA can get back in the playoff race, but a loss likely eliminates them from postseason contention. Luckily for the coaches, only two players–Janis Blums and Alexander Platunov–received national team call-ups, giving Viacheslav Shushakov two weeks to prepare PARMA for the final stage of the regular season.
Astana: Astana is in a much different place. The team serves as an incubator for the Kazakh national team and nine players were unavailable during the international break. Kazakhstan played just two days ago, giving the players little time to recover from games vs. Australia and the Philippines. Astana would be smart to emphasize three-point shooting. PARMA is not very good at defending the three-ball, while the Kazakhs rank fourth in the League at 37.9% from beyond the arc. With a win in Perm, Astana can close the gap on third-place Loko and Khimki.
