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How much did Lokomotiv manage to recover from the Eurocup shock?

Lokomotiv were 19-0 in that competition, but a convincing defeat to UNICS meant being eliminated from the fight for the trophy. Brown and Randolph's injuries had a big role in that defeat, UNICS destroyed them in the paint. Those two will be out today, as well as Kalnietis

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After getting nine points advantage in Kazan in the first match, not many expected that Lokomotiv will lose to UNICS, who played without their best player Langford, in Krasnodar. UNICS will now play the semifinal. However, after 19 consecutive wins in the Eurocup, Lokomotiv paid dearly the worst game they played this season, and were eliminated from the competition. UNICS really crushed them in the paint in the second half-time, and the fact that Randolph and Brown were out didn't help. Lokomotiv had 20 offensive rebounds, and won that segment 40-33, but couldn't score in a lot of chances created by the second offense.

- It's hard to analyze the match now. I think we deserved to continue the European season, but we were in a place where one match decided everything. Three important players missing was felt. We didn't have enough weapons in the moments when our leaders didn't play well - coach Bazarevič said.

Lokomotiv are now fully focused on the VTB league, which is their only chance to get to the Euroleague next season. It will be really hard, they need to get placed to the finals, and the competition is fierce. Lokomotiv will try to get the third place, which would bring them the home court advantage in the quarterfinal, but also help in avoiding the powerful CSKA until the finals. 

Today's match is really important, Lokomotiv are going to host their direct rival, who have one win less, but also played two matches less. The main question will be, how much did the team from Krasnodar manage to recover from the shock they had on Wednesday. 

- As they say, those who are strong are not those who don't fall, but those who don't rise after they fall. We'll get back to our feet against Zenit. The injured players won't be able to help, so we'll have to play a match completely different than the one against UNICS with the same roster that played that match - Bazarevič stated.

Zenit already turned their focus to the VTB league, after being eliminated from the Eurocup round of 16 by Khimki. They got an important win last weekend, which helped them keep the high placement before the playoff. They defeated UNICS at home, and basically eliminated the team from Kazan from fighting for the top 4 at the end of the regular part. We've seen a pretty tight match that was decided in the overtime. Zenit were lead by Landry who scored 24 with 6 rebounds, and Hodge, who scored 20.

- It was our fourth game against UNICS this season, and we lost the previous three. We wanted to get even, especially because we were able to rely on our full roster, even though the injured players weren't on their best form. We managed to do it, thanks to the aggressiveness and offensive rebounds - coach Karašev said.

He'll have a similar test today. Lokomotiv, just like UNICS, have a very firm defense, and how Zenit deal with that will decide what their chances are. Besides, a lot will depend on how the home team react after being eliminated from the Eurocup. Lokomotiv easily won the first duel in St. Petersburg, thanks to a great scoring night (54 points in the first 20 minutes), and had +16 after the first half-time already. They calmly kept that difference till the end.

The team from Krasnodar dominated that match in rebounds (38-26), Brown was great with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists. But, things will be completely different today because Brown and Randolph are out, and UNICS really showed what Lokomotiv's weaknesses are in the paint. Zenit don't have any bigger issues with the injuries, except for the long absent Košeev. Everyone else is ready.

- I think the key factor will be the quality of the team play - Stephens said.