VTB United League roundup

The first round of the VTB United League 1/8 finals has been completed and it was a good round to travel as only one club managed to pick up a home win. The teams celebrating taking a 1-0 series lead are Spartak St Petersburg, Krasnie Krilya, Nizhny Novgorod, and Lokomotiv Kuban.

Spartak St. Petersburg vs. Triumph Lyubertsy, 74-57

Spartak picked up the only home win of the first eighth final round by gunning down Triumph Lyubertsy to take a 1-0 series lead. St. Petersburg started slowly and trailed by two points at the midway buzzer, but a renewed second half performance saw the hosts hit 41 points. At the same time the Russian club restricted Lyubertsy to just 22 points in the third and fourth frames to take a relatively comfortable victory at home. Jared Homan secured 20 points and 9 rebounds for the winners, while Steven Burtt offered 17 points. In defeat, Kyle Landry struck 16 points and was backed up by Jeremy Chapelle with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Enisey vs. Krasnie Krilya, 78-81

Krilya travelled to Enisey for this all Russian contest and came away with a vital road win, to take poll position in the series. Videnov paced the winners with 17 points as Krasnie looked good from the opening exchanges and led through half time. The visitors were in fine touch throughout the game and dished a total of 24 assists throughout the contest. Despite giving away 24 free throw chances, Enisey maintained a strong challenge during the game and could have won on a different occasion. Artem Zabelin took a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds for the winning team, while Perovic led the losing effort with 17 points.

BC Astana vs. Nizhny Novgorod, 58-71

Niznhy kept its VTB United League hopes alive with this crushing victory. The visitors laid on 21 assists as the club found top gear quickly and led throughout the entire game. Pavel Korobkov set the tone for Nizhny with 16 points and 7 rebounds, but he was then followed by Gubanov with fifteen points. For a heavily defeated Astana, American Pal Calathes stood out with a game high 18 points and 8 rebounds. Nizhny will now be clear favourites to progress to the next stage after taking a 1-0 lead in the VTB United 1/8 Finals.

Krasny Oktyabr vs. Lokomotiv Kuban, 85-91

In a close encounter, Lokomotiv Kuban shocked Krasny Oktyabr at home to take a 1-0 lead in the two game series. The hosts had led for much of the encounter and held the lead after 30 minutes of play, but Lokomotiv showed the kind of resilience that shocked many in the Euroleague this season to come back and claim an unlikely win.