By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
The margin is close as many teams are in the chase of a ticket to the playoffs with similar records in the standings. Which ones will make it through? We will soon find out! Until then, let’s take a look at the most notable moments in VTB League from this past game week:
MVP
Chris Czerapowicz
Tsmoki-Minsk’s Swed helped the team bounce back from a six-game losing streak with a superb performance of 33 points against Parma. The 26-year-old guard matched the league’s season record in three-pointers (7/11) and managed to achieve a new career high of his own as well and completed the game with 33 points of efficiency. Enjoy his highlights!
CSKA power in Riga
The Army Team is back on the winning track for good and has been really consistent in its VTB League duties. Once again, the Russians made things easy on the road against VEF, with Nikita Kurbanov and Vitaly Fridzon playing a key role in the victory. With 16 wins in 18 battles, the team ranks second in the standings, still below Unics (that has currently played 15 games) and has no fear for the playoffs.
No Shved – party for Astana
The Kazakh team took advantage of injury-plagued Khimki Moscow when the two met on Sunday. Lacking also Robinson, Gill, Honeycutt, Zubkov and Sokolov, things were pretty tough for Giorgos Bartzokas’ squad from the get-go. Despite the opening 20-2 run, Khimki never had the chance to lead again, as Astana’s Ike Udanoh and Malcolm Grant were there to save the day for their team and push it to the 7th spot of the standings.
Jonas Maciulis in Lokomotiv
Right after Ryan Broekhoff’s hand injury, Lokomotiv reacted fast and penned a deal with the former Real Madrid player. Maciulis is expected to make his debut this Saturday when Loko meets Tsmoki in Minsk. It looks like this deal will work just perfectly. The Lithuanian player needs his playing time and the Krasnodar side needs his sharp shooting and fighting spirit. Win-win.