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Basketball » VTB (M), Round of 16
OddsStatsTip
30.04.2014. 17:00 Finished
Krasny Oktyabr - Lokomotiv Kuban (85:91)

Wafer left Volgograd, and Fletcher is lost for this series

  • Published:

Lokomotiv will not be able to count on Kalnietis i these matches, and although he is an important part of their team, the wide bench will make up for it. Oktjabr had a narrow rotation even with those two, now the problem is even worse

www.lokobasket.com
Almost a month after the last match of the regular season between Himki and Azovmaš, the VTB league playoff is starting. The completely illogical schedule drawn up by the league management was heavily criticized by many teams. While the non-Russian teams had it a bit easier as they played their national championships, the Russian teams not playing European competitions had it particularly rough.

As you probably know, the Russian championship will no longer be played from this season onwards. This kind of a schedule made some sense in the previous seasons, but this year, when the standings are decided based on the ranking in the VTB league, a break of such length is not needed. Not to take anything from others, but this league is primarily about the Russian teams, which is clear from the fact that 10 of the 12 teams in playoff are Russian. All the Russian representatives made it to the playoff, while the "odd ones in" are Astana and Lietuvos.

One of the victims of this system is also Oktjabr, who are greeting Lokomotiv after a 35 day break in this competition, which is simply too much of a hiatus prior to a key part of the season. The rookie from Volgograd have exceeded all expectations this season, they were expected to hunker near the bottom of the ranking, but thanks to great scouting by the management and bringing some quality American players, Oktjabr have managed to put together a team that can be competitive against anyone and deserve to be in the playoff. They have also managed to get into the Cup semifinal, where they were eliminated by today's opponents after dropping a bombshell in the previous round by eliminating the mighty CSKA, who managed to get into the European Final Four a few days ago.

- We did some great things this season. You only need to look at the great teams we left behind us in the VTB league. The fans take a lot of credit for this. We have the biggest occupancy of all the Russian teams, and it's great to play with a full arena cheering you on- said captain Zamanski, who also said a few words about the upcoming Lokomotiv series:

-We have the experience of playing against them in the semifinal series, where we could judge their strong points and their weaknesses. The ball is round, we have our chance.

Oktjabr were in the lead in the second part of both games, but the experience of Lokomotiv decided on both occasions. However, Oktjabr have gained confidence after the CSKA games, they saw they can play against Lokomotiv, and they will look for their chance here. The first game will be crucial, undoubtedly, as the system is that the weaker team play at home first, then the stronger play two in front of their own fans. A victory would mean Oktjabr would be looking for a win in Krasnodar, while defeat would bring them to the verge of elimination.

The most important piece of news prior to the playoff is that Wafer is no longer with Oktjabr and will not be playing in this series, and neither will power forward Fletcher (8.4 points and 3.9 rebounds), who got injured in the match against Lokomotiv. Oktjabr have been synonymous with quality basketball all season long, and have gathered many supporters among the neutral fans because of that. However, injuries to Culpepper and Hinson, as well as the arrival of Wafer, brought along a major shift in their defense. Before the arrival of their great point guard Oktjabr cared little about defense, conceding under 83 points in only one game. However, in the 10 games after he arrived, they never conceded over 83.

-Regardless of Fletcher and Culpepper, we haven't lost our spirit and are preparing for the matches against Lokomotiv. This is a great chance for the young players to prove themselves at this level- said coach Berestnjev.

It is worth noting that Wafer missed the second game of the cup in Krasnodar, and they were still close to winning with just 71 point conceded. One can expect they will try the same tactic today. Lokomotiv are a very dangerous team on the offense, they find open shooters through good passing. They have a wide roster with many players who can have their night, and without a quality effort on defense Oktjabr can hardly expect to win, especially since their players will also be a bit tense on offense after a long break and playing such an important match. The departure of Wafer is  a major setback, no doubt about it, as he demolished CSKA in Moscow, scoring 38 points.

Oktjabr will once again rely on the performance of other foreign players, and their long break must have recharged them fully, which means they should easily play a long game. A their smaller roster might perhaps show its downsides in their next games, as the away games in Krasnodar are scheduled on Saturday and Sunday.

Lokomotiv lost their first game after the long break, and suffered a defeat that pushed them far away from winning their first trophy of the season. After Himki, UNICS demolished Lokomotiv too at home, with the team form Krasnodar once again experiencing the quality of the defense played by the Kazanj crew. It was the third time these two met this season, and Lokomotiv scored 53, 63 and 45, losing by at least 15 points every time. Pašutin once again failed to find a countermeasure for Trinchieri's machine.

-UNICS played better, and deserved to win. We held our own for two quarters, allowed them to take off in the third, and then just stopped playing. Goudelock and Eidson played very well, our perimeter showed nothing on the other hand- said Pašutin after a game in which their big guys scored 28 of the 45 points for his team, while Lokomotiv scored 1/10 three pointers.

The rematch is scheduled 15 days from now, and judging from what we've seen so far, it will be a formality. UNICS will hardly drop the huge lead they have, and Lokomotiv will focus all they have on the VTB league. Getting to the Euroleague one again will no be easy as only the two teams playing in the final get there directly, and Lokomotiv are facing CSKA in the quarterfinal. It will be very hard, bordering on impossible, to repeat their achievement from last year, but first they have to get over the obstacle from Volgograd. Lokomotiv beat Oktjabr in the semifinal of the Russian cup in both games, but neither of those was a simple affair.

- The playoff is coming, and it brings games that are completely different from the ones in the regular season. We got to know Oktjabr in the Cup games. Our main task is to stop Oktjabr's leading players, Deane and Cuthbert. Most of the possessions Oktjabr play are build on the perimeter, and we have to be extra careful there. We cannot lose focus on rebounding, where Cuthbert and Cousin are especially strong. Of course, we need to improve our game on offense, pass the ball around better and constantly attack our opponent's weakest links-  said Pašutin, who will not be able to count on Kalnietis, an important player that got injured in a friendly game against Nižnij, and Žukanenko, who got injured in practice.

- I know, from personal experience, how hard it is to play the same opponent twice. The most important thing is not to relax. If we manage to play our own game and show the performance we're capable of, then we must win those games- said Ponkrašov, also commenting on the odds against CSKA in a possible quarterfinal series:

- It will be incredibly difficult. I've said many times it is hard to play a series against CSKA. You might beat them in one game, but a series, that's borderline science fiction.
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Handicap (OT incl.) +7 tip: 2   Goran
Odds Stake Min. odds Last margin Bookmaker
1.74 4/10 1.65 8 Pinnacle
The atmosphere in Volgograd will be great but I think the difference in quality is just too big here. Wafer was important for this team as much as Fletcher and without them, Oktyabr are left with four foreign players that are capable of carrying the biggest load. The rest of the team consists of Russian players and the fact is that none of them have scored more than 3.6 points per game so far, which says enough. Lokomotiv have the depth and as soon as Oktyabr are forced to rotate, the result will show it. Pashutin is aware that a potential defeat would put his team in massive trouble as the series is short and the game is the first team to get two wins, so they can't allow a slip-up today. Oktyabr have so far had Culpepper or Wafer, and Deane and King will be the main guys today, but there are 1-2 players missing in the rotation to seriously threaten Lokomotiv.
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