By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The game between Unics Kazan and CSKA Moscow was the undisputed VTB League derby of the Week but just became an opportunity for the defending champs to show their steel in an emphatic manner.
Beating a highly dangerous opponent on the road, minus one major player (Milos Teodosic) and still dropping 100+ points? If that’s not the definition of a “statement victory” then I don’t know what it is…
The favorites had no issues in the rest of the games that took place this weekend. Now Lokomotiv Kuban is the one directly looking to overthrow CSKA from the first place of the standings, while Zenit St. Petersburg unleashed the full force of its offensive fury on Parma. Meanwhile Khimki returned to form vs Astana while Avtodor Saratov survived the fight that Enisey brought upon them, more particularly the crazed action of a brilliant Frank Elegar.
The MVP: Nando De Colo (CSKA Moscow)
In light of Milos Teodosic’s absence he had to give an extra hand when it comes to playmaking. And he actually did much more than that, spearheading CSKA to victory over Unics. Apart from dropping 17 points (on a sublime 2-3 two-pointers and 4-6 from beyond the arc), the French combo guard had a creative “tour de force” tying his assists career-high with 11 dimes. He also stole the ball four times while committing relatively few turnovers (3) for the 30 minutes he spent on court plus the duties he undertook.
Best Five of the Week:
Nando De Colo (CSKA Moscow)
Almost everything beneficial that happened in his team’s offense came from his hands, in one way or another.
Alexey Shved (Khimki Moscow)
Khimki Moscow wasn’t only looking to win after last week’s defeat by Zenit, but also put a convincing performance on the floor vs Astana. Alexey Shved made sure that his team would get a “check” on both, registering a double-double consisted of 23 points and 11 assists thanks to which the Russians overcame their opponents at home.
DeAndre Kane (Nizhny Novgorod)
What impresses me more with this guy is that he’ll make buckets abundantly with the least possible cost for his team’s possessions. He won’t waste a buzzilion random attempts, but trust his ability as a dynamic finisher near the rim to deliver. That’s what the Nizhny guard did vs Tsmoki Minsk. He scored 23 points on a sublime 10/11 (!) two-pointers and provided heavily on rebounding with 10. You can take his 5 assists as the cherry on the pie.
Nick Minnerath (Avtodor Saratov)
The top scorer in VTB strikes again. And boy… didn’t his team need him. Enisey was more than a handful for Avtodor in Saratov but in the end the hosts won, albeit more narrowly than what the final 94 – 87 shows. Minnerath helped keep his squad’s head above the water with 24 points plus 10 rebounds and provided
Frank Elegar (Enisey)
He gave sooo much trouble to Avtodor Saratov but in the end he couldn’t beat them single-handedly. Not for lack of trying though since he record a magnificent double-double with 27 points and 16 rebounds while stealing the ball thrice and throwing two blocks on his opponents who were forced to foul him 10 times. Elegar finished the match with 40 in PIR in quite possibly one of the top performances of his career.
Coach of the Week: Dimitris Itoudis (CSKA Moscow)
Once again CSKA showed that not only it can defeat any opponent in big games, but also manage impressive victories combined with attractive basketball even without its major stars. Something which obviously has to do with how Dimitris Itoudis has constructed his squad.
Even though he lacked the services of maestro Milos Teodosic in the match vs Unics Kazan, Itoudis presented an extremely potent group on court that finished the match with 105 points and 24 assists. Fine production right?
The last word: Magic numbers
This wasn’t only a week filled with great individual performances but also some notable team stats. For example the almost… insane output of Zenit St. Petersburg in the second half vs Parma where it scored 69 (!) points. Seriously. We knew that coach Karasev’s team sometimes gets too hot to handle but this took it to a completely another level!
CSKA Moscow rained down three-pointers on Unics Kazan finishing at 15 from the perimeter. Speaking of threats from downtown, Nizhny Novgorod and Tsmoki combined for 20 baskets from beyond the arc. Tsmoki also finished the match with 27 assists. Quite the number, but not as impressive as Zenit’s 30 for the 116 points produced against Parma.