Russia (bbabo.net), - There was a week and a half break in the United League basketball championship due to the All-Star Game on February 20 and then the games of the national team in qualification for the 2023 World Cup (February 24 and 27). Kazan's UNICS and St. Petersburg's Zenit are leading in the international tournament.
It seemed that during the Winter Olympics, attention to the events in the United League would noticeably weaken, but that was not the case. There were enough informational occasions in abundance. First, last year's play-off finalists CSKA and UNICS in Moscow gave out a thriller match that was crazy in terms of tension - 105:103 in favor of Kazan after three (!) additional five-minute periods. A few days later, the representative of the Republic of Belarus "Tsmoki-Minsk" on the home court set a historical record of the United League, winning back in the confrontation with the Krasnoyarsk "Yenisei" after a backlog of 27 (!) points. The final result - 72:68 in favor of the hosts.
The next dramatic and exciting game with a record to boot was not long in coming. “Astana” in Kazakhstan defeated the Krasnodar “Lokomotiv-Kuban” 87:83, and here the main achievement was not a team achievement, but a personal one. The American legionnaire of "Astana" Anthony Hickey scored 43 (!) points. This is the highest scorer of the season, the most in the history of the League for matches without overtime.
In recent games, the intensity of passions gradually faded away. Three of our members of the Euroleague and, of course, the favorites of the United League at the same time, Zenit St. Petersburg, UNICS Kazan and CSKA defeated their rivals. Last game week Zenit beat Tsmoki-Minsk on the road - 90:74, the club from the capital of Tatarstan also beat Astana away - 84:53, and the capital's army team upset Lokomotiv-Kuban at home - 91:71.
The Saratov "Avtodor", which is having a great season, does not slow down. In the Volga derby, the team in Nizhny Novgorod defeated the local club of the same name, headed by Serbian specialist Zoran Lukic, steering the Russian national team - 83:70. At "Avtodor" an excellent match was given by an American forward, a native of Texas Jeron Johnson, who scored 25 points, 19 of them (!) - in the final quarter. The number 25 is a personal record for a basketball player in the United League.
The League is preparing for Sunday's All-Star Game in the format "Stars of Russia" - "Stars of the World" and promptly informs about forced changes in the composition of the teams. Due to an injury, Dane Iffe Lundberg (CSKA) will not play in the legionnaires' team, the main contender for the February MVP title, Anthony Hickey, will not be able to fly to Moscow for personal reasons. The place of these bright players in the ranks of the Stars of the World team will be taken by two Americans - Zenit center Alex Poitress and Estonian Kalev forward Kamari Murphy. Previously, they were selected by the League to participate in the top shot competition.
After the "Star Game" and two games of our national team with the Netherlands, the regular season of the United League will resume on March 2 in Krasnodar. Lokomotiv Kuban will host Nizhny Novgorod.
On Saturday, the League determined the symbolic five of the past game week. It included Alexei Shved, Daniel Hackett (both CSKA), Isaiah Kanan (UNICS), Jeron Johnson (Avtodor) and Alex Poythress (Zenit).
Position of teams in the United League
1. UNICS (Kazan) - 13 wins - 2 losses (win percentage 86.7);
2. Zenit (St. Petersburg) - 12-3 (80.0%);
3. Avtodor (Saratov) - 9-3 (75.0%);
4. CSKA - 11-4 (73.3%);
5. "Parma" (Perm region) - 7-4 (63.6%);
6. Lokomotiv-Kuban (Krasnodar) - 6-6 (50%);
7. BC "Nizhny Novgorod" - 5-7 (41.7%);
8. Enisey (Krasnoyarsk) - 4-9 (30.8%);
9. Astana (Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan) - 3-9 (25.0%);
10. "Kalev" (Tallinn, Estonia) - 3-10 (23.1%);
11. Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus) - 2-9 (18.2%);
12. Zielona Gora (Poland) - 2-11 (15.4%).
Note: Ranking by the percentage of wins from the number of matches played. According to the results of the two-round tournament, the top eight teams will advance to the playoffs.
Where will we watch
February 20, Sunday"Match TV"
16:35 - 19:20. "Match of Stars" United League. "Stars of Russia" - "Stars of the World". Live Stream.
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