By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The final week of the VTB United League Regular Season action was completed on Sunday with five games. Eight teams will move on playing in the Playoffs. Enisey Krasnoyarsk won’t be part of postseason action, but produced Eurohoops’ final MVP of Regular Season.
MVP
D’Angelo Harrison, Enisey Krasnoyarsk
In a game without playoffs implications, Enisey Krasnoyarsk beat Khimki Moscow Region on the road behind D’Angelo Harrison’s masterful performance. The 25-year-old American guard secured MVP honors setting multiple VTB personal-bests with 34 points, 12 rebounds, seven drawn fouls and 42 PIR.
Ninth place belongs to Enisey, but isn’t enough for the playoffs. However, Oleg Okulov’s club managed to follow up the big away victory against Khimki with the 88-84 home win versus Avtodor Saratov. Harrison added on his impressive week finishing the Regular Season with 16 points and nine boards in 30 minutes.
Loko loses twice, receives Zenit
Estonia and Latvia weren’t kind to Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. The Russian team was already fixed at fourth place and completed the Regular Season with a couple of defeats, 81-76 to Kalev/Cramo Tallinn and 75-71 to VEF Riga. Zenit Saint-Petersburg grabbed fifth place setting up a series against Loko with the 103-95 home win versus Astana Nur Sultan.
Enisey bows out with a pair of wins
It was too late for the playoffs, but Enisey Krasnoyarsk finished its 2018-19 VTB United League campaign beating Khimki Moscow Region, 94-86, on the road and Avtodor Saratov, 88-84, at home. Rimas Kurtinaitis’ side completed its two-game week routing Parma Perm Region, 97-63, ahead of playoffs series against Astana Nur Sultan.
Up next CSKA
Nizhny Novgorod finished the Regular Season with a 77-70 home win against Tsmoki Minsk. The Russian side dug its way out of a first-half double-digit hole to improve to 14-12 ahead of the playoffs series versus CSKA Moscow. Vladimir Dragicevic paved the way with 27 points and seven boards.
Poland trip a success for UNICS
Second-seeded UNICS Kazan faced a similar situation, but overcame a 13-point deficit to defeat Stelmet Enea Zielona Gora, 82-73, on the road. Maurice Ndour scored a team-high 17 points at Poland. Kalev/Cramo Tallinn is the playoffs opponent for Dimitris Priftis’ team.
Weekly Results:
Kalev/Cramo Tallinn – Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 81-76 (Tony Wroten 24p – Jerome Randle 17p)
Khimki Moscow Region – Enisey Krasnoyarsk 86-94 (Alexey Shved 25p – D’ Angelo Harrison 34p)
Zenit Saint-Petersburg – Astana Nur Sultan 103-95 (Codi Miller-McIntyre 20p – Michael Jenkins 20p)
Enisey Krasnoyarsk – Avtodor Saratov 88-84 (John Roberson 21p – Perrin Buford 29p)
Khimki Moscow Region – Parma Perm Region 97-63 (Alexey Shved 21p – Tre McLean 12p)
Nizhny Novgorod – Tsmoki Minsk 77-70 (Vladimir Dragicevic 27p – Devon Saddler 30p)
VEF Riga – Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 75-71 (Jabril Durham 15p – JaJuan Johnson 20p)
Stelmet Enea Zielona Gora – UNICS Kazan 73-82 (Markel Starks 21p – Maurice Ndour 17p)
Final Standings:
1. CSKA Moscow 22-4
2. UNICS Kazan 21-5
3. Khimki Moscow Region 20-6
4. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 17-9
5. Zenit Saint-Petersburg 15-11
6. Astana Nur Sultan 15-11
7. Kalev/Cramo Tallinn 14-12
8. Nizhny Novgorod 14-12
9. Enisey Krasnoyarsk 11-15
10. VEF Riga 10-16
11. Avtodor Saratov 9-17
12. Stelmet Enea Zielona Gora 5-21
13. Parma Perm Region 5-21
14. Tsmoki Minsk 4-22
Playoffs Pairings:
CSKA Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod
UNICS Kazan – Kalev/Cramo Tallinn
Khimki Moscow Region – Astana Nur Sultan
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar – Zenit Saint-Petersburg
Photo Credit: VTB United League