VTB League: CSKA Moscow beats Lokomotiv

The weekend’s action in the VTB League saw table topping CSKA Moscow tighten its grip with a win over one of its nearest rivals. The Army Men overcame Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in an encounter between two top four teams. Elsewhere, Zenit St. Petersburg capitalized on Lokomotiv’s loss with a win over Nizhny Novgorod. Khimki Moscow Region also moved up the standings with a big road win over Unics Kazan.

CSKA Moscow vs. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, 83-77

With the round delayed for the VTB League All-Star Game, CSKA waited until Monday to enhance its position at the top of the standings. The reigning five-time champions secured a big home win over Lokomotiv to move to 15-2 in the standings. Krasnodar dropped to fourth with a 13-3 showing. A tight game saw the teams tied at 38-38 through the long break. The third act made the difference as CSKA grabbed the winning points with a 19-13 frame. A 26-26 fourth quarter ended the contest in style.

Nando De Colo drained 22 points to top CSKA Moscow, while Andrey Vorontsevich added 14 points.

Andrey Zubkov led Lokomotiv with 19 points, followed by Mardy Collins with 18 points.

Editor’s Note: If you want more information about the VTB United League, or other international leagues, you can check out Court Side’s Game Center.

Unics Kazan vs. Khimki Moscow Region, 73-98

Khimki took advantage of Lokomotiv’s loss and demolished Unics Kazan to move to third place with a 13-3 record. Euroleague club Kazan is now in fifth with a 11-6 showing. A high scoring first quarter saw Unics Kazan take a 28-25 lead, before Khimki took the momentum with a 21-28 second frame. The scoreboard read 49-53 through the long break and the visitors had taken the game and rarely looked back. A 13-25 third act settled the game for good.

Alexey Shved was excellent for the winners, grabbing 31 points. Sergey Monya added an impressive 29 points and Marko Todorovic scored 20 points.

Scoring machine Keith Langford topped the losing effort with 19 points.

Nizhny Novgorod vs. Zenit St. Petersburg, 93-97

Zenit St. Petersburg was the big winner in Round 21 and moved into second place after edging Nizhny in a hard fought high-scoring game. Nizhny Novogord’s season is slipping away and the club is now on 5-11 way down the standings. However, the hosts put in a fantastic effort in this game, but ultimately could not handle the consistent offensive style of Zenit.

Ryan Toolson led the win with 20 points, while Kyle Landry claimed 18 points.

Petr Gubanov paced the losing hosts with a game-high 23 points.