By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
As implied by the title, CSKA still dominates Northern Europe after a homecourt victory against Khimki, Unics stole the victory from Astana, Avtodor and Zenit triumphed, while VEF comfortably took down Zielona Gora at home.
MVP
Artem Klimenko, UNICS Kazan
The 25-year-old Russian big man stepped up with one of his best performances of the season against Astana on the road, with 16 points and 11 boards, adding to 26 PIR, the highest of any other player this past week in VTB!
CSKA dominates the game of the week
Two traditional Russian powerhouses clashed on Monday, with CSKA Moscow getting away with a 75-65 victory against fellow VTB/EuroLeague competitor Khimki. Cory Higgins (17 p.) and Daniel Hackett (13 p.) managed to stop their visitors, as well as Jordan Mickey, who posted 26 points and 11 rebounds.
UNICS ties Khimki in the second place
Following a great road victory against Astana, UNICS moved up to a 10-2 record, tying Khimki who suffered its second defeat on Monday. Both Artem Klimenko (our MVP) and Errick McCollum (20 p.) did their best to seal an important result that places the team in sight for home-court advantage in the upcoming playoffs.
Zenit has it easy over Nizhny
The road to playoffs is going to be a long one and Zenit is doing everything possible to remain competitive. This week, the St. Petersburg side stunned visiting Nizhny Novgorod, paced by Marko Simonovic (16 p.) and moved up to a 7-5 record, tying Astana.
Weekly assists record by Avtodor’s Trae Golden
Sharing is caring, teamwork makes dream work and all of these cliches are true, especially in the case of Avtodor’s Golden, who handed out 10 assists in the team’s victory over Parma this weekend.
VTB weekend results
Astana – Unics 79-83 (Clemmons 16 p. – McCollum 20 p.)
Tsmoki Minsk – Kalev 82-95 (Rush 21 p. – Moultrie 22 p.)
Avtodor – Parma 93-76 (Kravish 23 p. – Lazarev 15 p.)
Zenit – Nizhny Novgorod 103-78 (Simonovic 16 p. – Astapkovich 15 p.)
VEF – Zielona Gora 83-57 (Grazulis 18 p. – Zamosjki 15 p.)
CSKA Moscow – Khimki Moscow 75-65 (Higgins 17 p. – Mickey 24 p.)
Photo credit: VTB League on Flickr