Sunday, December 25
Parma (Russia) – UNICS (Russia)
Time: 5:30 PM (3:30 MSK)
Place: Molot Sports Palace, Perm, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Parma: Few expect the VTB League newcomers to give UNICS much of a fight, especially considering Parma remains winless. The home team’s best bet will be to exploit Kazan’s Euroleague fatigue and feed off the energy in Perm’s Sport Palace.
UNICS: Evgeny Pashutin’s men celebrated victories in the Euroleague vs. Galatasaray and Zalgiris earlier this week, despite playing without Keith Langford in the first game. Evgeny Voronov filled in nicely for the sharpshooter, dropping 22 points. Langford was back, however, for the win in Kaunas, scoring 26.
Kazan has a brutal schedule to finish the year, traveling to Parma on Saturday before another Euroleague test against Panathinaikos next week. Considering the circumstances, there’s a good chance Evgeny Pashutin will rest several of his stars in Perm.
Monday, December 26
CSKA (Russia) – Enisey (Russia)
Time: 7:00 PM (7:00 MSK)
Place: USH CSKA, Moscow, Russia
TV: Match! Nash sport, VTB-League.com
CSKA: The Army Men continue to share 1st place with UNICS. Assuming Kazan takes care of business in Perm, CSKA needs a win vs. Enisey to remain atop the standings. Prior to Sunday’s game, CSKA secured a comeback win vs. Maccabi, then fell to Fenerbahce in the Euroleague. Nando De Colo missed both games, while Milos Teodosic played on Friday vs. Fenerbahce. It’s unclear whether or not De Colo will be back on Monday.
Enisey: Krasnoyarsk and Moscow met in the season opener, with the Muscovites winning by 13 on the road. Oleg Okulov’s men, however, played the reigning champs tough. If Enisey can score the upset on the road, they would create some separation from 8th-place VEF and possibly even bump Astana from 6th. It won’t be easy. Enisey only scores 73.2 points per game on the road, one of the lowest averages in the League. Going against CSKA’s stingy defense, that won’t get the job done.
