VTB United League – Round 9: Leader CSKA gets another victory

MilosTeodosic Undefeated leader CSKA delivered the seventh consecutive win on Sunday night. This time they crushed 12th ranked BC Nizhny Novgorod (1-7) 105-78 in Moscow. The game without a history. CSKA led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. They made 20-of-24 free shots (83.3 percent) during the game. CSKA looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists comparing to just 13 passes made by BC Nizhny Novgorod’s players. The best player for the winners was Serbian point guard Milos Teodosic (195-87) who scored 10 points and 8 assists. Swingman Dmitrii Kulagin (197-92, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) chipped in 15 points. At the other side the best for losing team was American guard DeAndre Kane (193-89, college: Iowa St., agency: BeoBasket) who recorded 22 points. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Undefeated CSKA (7-0) have an impressive series of seven victories in a row. Defending Russian champion maintains first place with a perfect record of 7 victories in a row. BC Nizhny Novgorod lost third consecutive game. They keep the twelfth position with seven games lost. CSKA are looking forward to face Lokomotiv (#5) in Kuban in the next round. BC Nizhny Novgorod will play on the road against Zenit (#3) in Saint Petersburg and is hoping to prove to their supporters that they can break losing series. Bottom-ranked Russian Parma (0-7) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 82-65 loss to sixth ranked Kazakhstan Astana (4-3) in Perm. It was a good game for American guard Ian Miller (190-91, college: Florida St., agency: Two Points) who led his team to a victory with 30 points and 4 assists. Dimitrios Katsivelis contributed with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists for the winners. Ivan Ukhov (188-95) answered with 13 points for Parma. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Astana maintains sixth place with 4-3 record. Parma lost their seventh game in a row. Newly promoted team still closes the standings with seven games lost. Astana will play against Tsmoki-Minsk (#8) at home in the next round. Parma will play against VEF Riga (#7) and hopes to get finally their first victory.The game in Krasnoyarsk supposed to be also quite interesting. Fourth ranked Zenit (6-1) played at the court of 8th ranked Enisey (3-5). Zenit smashed Enisey 100-75 on Sunday. Ryan Toolson stepped up and scored 24 points for the winners. The best for the losing side was Tony Taylor with 20 points and 8 assists. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Zenit moved-up to third place. Enisey lost their third game in a row. They keep the eighth position with five games lost. They share it with Tsmoki-Minsk. Zenit will meet at home BC Nizhny Novgorod (#12) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Enisey will play against Kalev/Cramo (#10) and it may be a tough game between close rivals. The game in Minsk was also worth to mention about. Fourth ranked Russian Khimky (5-1) played at the court of 8th ranked Belarusian Tsmoki-Minsk (3-5). Khimky managed to secure a 4-point victory 77-73. Alexey Shved nailed 26 points and 5 assists for the winning side. Tsmoki-Minsk’s coach tried various players’ combinations and tested in total twelve players in this game, but that didn’t help. The victory was the fifth consecutive win for Khimky. They maintain fourth place with 5-1 record. Defending Belarusian champion Tsmoki-Minsk keeps the eighth position with five games lost. Khimky’s next round opponent will be Avtodor (#11) in Saratov and are hoping to win another game. Tsmoki-Minsk will play on the road against Astana and it may be a tough game between close rivals. The game with biggest result difference took place in Kuban. Local Lokomotiv (5-2) outscored 7th ranked Latvian VEF Riga (3-4) 107-64 on Sunday night. The best player for the winners was Mardy Collins who scored 16 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to get some rest. The victory was the fifth consecutive win for Lokomotiv. They maintain fifth place with 5-2 record. VEF Riga at the other side keeps the seventh position with four games lost. Lokomotiv will face league’s leader CSKA in Moscow in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. VEF Riga will play on the road against Parma (#13) in Perm and hope to win that game. In the last game of round 9 Kalev/Cramo was defeated by Unics in Kazan 104-91. The best stats of 9th round was 21 points, 6 rebounds and 15 assists by Joaquin Colom of Unics.Unics – Kalev/Cramo 104-91There was no surprise when 10th ranked Estonian Kalev/Cramo (2-5) was defeated on the road by second ranked Russian Unics Kazan (7-1) 104-91 on Sunday. The game was mostly controlled by Unics Kazan. Kalev/Cramo was better in fourth quarter 33-22. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Kalev/Cramo 39-24 including a 28-14 advantage in defensive rebounds. It was a great shooting night for Unics Kazan especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 55.0 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. The best …

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