By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The VTB schedule slowed down a bit in the second week of 2020 as it featured four matchups and the wins belonged to Lokomotiv, Tsmoki-Minsk, Parma and Zielona Gora which was the only away team to get it done this week.
MVP performance by Drew Gordon in Zielona Gora’s historic win
Zielona Gora got its first win against Enisey in club history and to make things more impressive, they got it on the road. They are the only squad this season to beat Enisey on their court aside from the first-placed, undefeated Khimki.
Hero of the match? Drew Gordon. The 29-year-old American forward posted a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds in 28 minutes on the floor while adding three assists, two blocks and a steal. He also drew 11 fouls and shot 9-16 from the field on his way to 32 PIR.
Parma snap a five-game losing skid against Astana
Parma hasn’t had the best of the seasons so far in this campaign but they show glimpses of their potential here and there. They did so in the overtime win over Astana this week as they bounce back from five straight losses in all competitions.
The experience was what got them out of the slump this time around as Adas Jusekvicius posted 21 followed by Nikolai Zhmako’s 19 points. Mareks Mejeris was also impressive with 16 points and 11 boards. On the other side, Malcolm Hill banked 26 and Jeremiah Hill 21 points.
Tsmoki-Minsk surprises the home crowd with a win
Tsmoki stands at the bottom of the VTB League standings and a big part of their troubles is not being able to get the wins at home. However, there is a first time for everything and the squad secured their first home win this season, against Avtodor Saratov.
Alexandre Gavrilovic posted a double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds while Maksim Salash added 16 and eight. Branko Mirkovic also scored 16 points. For Avtodor, Elgin Cook logged 19 in addition to Isaiah Hicks’ 18 points and 11 boards.
Lokomotiv stays close to the top
Despite some ups and downs, Lokomotiv Kuban stayed near the top of the VTB standings. They are currently third with a 9-4 record behind Khimki (12-1) and CSKA (10-4), and in front of UNICS (7-5). They got past Nizhny Novgorod this week led by Will Cummings and Johnny O’Bryant who scored 20 points each.
VTB results and scorers
Lokomotiv Kuban – Nizhny Novgorod 87-83 (Cummings 20 – Brown 19)
Tsmoki-Minsk – Avtodor Saratov 88-80 (Mirkovic 16 – Cook 19)
Parma Perm – Astana 100-91 (Juskevicius 21 – Hill 26)
Enisey – Zielona Gora 84-91 (Zubcic 21 – Gordon 24)
VTB standings
1. Khimki 12-1
2. CSKA 10-4
3. Lokomotiv 9-4
4. UNICS 7-5
5. Zenit 6-6
6. Enisey 6-6
7. Zielona Gora 6-7
8. Nizhny Novgorod 5-7
9. Astana 5-7
10. Kalev/Cramo 5-8
11. Avtodor 4-8
12. Parma 4-9
13. Tsmoki-Minsk 3-10
Photo Credit: VTB United League