ONLY TOP-QUALITY TIPS

The new tip-authorisation model is still proving to be a great move. The strict selection carried out by well-established experts has lead us to top-level results..

As of June1st, 710 tips were publish on our website with brilliant 14,7% ROI. Had you invested EUR 50 per unit (250 EUR for 5/10, 500 EUR for 10/10 and so on…) on our tips, you could have made over 31,500 EUR. Also, we need to add that almost all tips were proposed on Pinnacle and bet365.

Subscribe to Betprepare and starting making money on betting. We’re proving it possible each next month!

Football Football Read more Open
Basketball Basketball Read more Open
Handball Handball Read more Open
Ice hockey Ice hockey Read more Open
Volleyball Volleyball Read more Open
American football American football Read more Open
Football Football Read more Open
Basketball Basketball Read more Open
Handball Handball Read more Open
Volleyball Volleyball Read more Open
American football American football Read more Open
Football Football Read more Open
Basketball Basketball Read more Open
Handball Handball Read more Open
Ice hockey Ice hockey Read more Open
Volleyball Volleyball Read more Open

  Advanced archive search
Previous
previews archive: November 2024
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
Previous
tips archive: November 2024
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
× WARNING: You are now in the free part of the website and not all information is shown. To see all information you can get a subscription from 3,44 € per day. Find out more about the benefits for premium users and register at once.
Basketball » VTB (M), Round of 16
OddsStatsTip
02.05.2014. 11:00 Finished
Spartak St Petersburg - Zenit (74:57)

Spartak got into the playoff thanks to Donetsk stepping out

  • Published:

The Saint Petersburg team have already lost all their chances but were quick to take advantage of an opening when it came. Triumph were much more convincing during the season and are a favorite as the series starts

www.lokobasket.com

The first three games of the first round of the VTB playoff gave us three away wins and the option for the favorites to win their series in two games. Triumph will try to continue in that vein today, but Spartak will try to spoil the parade for the team from Ljuberci.

Spartak entered the season with a lot of problems and a significantly weaker roster than in the previous season, but managed to find their way to the playoff. They were somewhat lucky, as Donetsk were forced to step out of the league before the season ended due to the unstable political situation in Ukraine. Spartak took advantage of that and snatched the last spot leading to the playoff.

www.lokobasket.com

In the first half or the season Spartak played the Eurocup as well, and it showed, as Vetra used six players and it was obvious they could not play a high level game every three days. Dropping out of the Eurocup and the return of Bostic somewhat improved the situation. Spartak scored  valuable victories, some of which were against Nizhny at home and the away match in Vilnius.

However, the fact remains this team is still not ready for greater things. Vetra has a way too shallow roster, with the team primarily relying on the performance of four foreigners. They are getting some (but not enough) help from the Russian players, especially since Surovcev was let go. Before Bostic arrived, everything depended on how Burtt, Homan and McGrath felt that evening. The American heated up the competition a bit by transferring in from Chalon, but this is still no enough for the best Russian teams. On the other hand, Triumph have definitely shown they can handle anyone.

-We've had 40 days to prepare for this game, and we've tried to make good use of that. We played three prep games during this period, two against Ventspils and one vs Enisej. We've had a long break and the guys are hungry for some basketball. Regardless of it being Spring, with nice weather outdoors, I hope a lot of people come and support us, we really need them in the playoff. We are ready for the playoff, both mentally and physically. We need to find the weak spots of Triumphs, get to their basket and make shots. If each of our players plays up to his potential, we have a shot at winning the series. This match-up is the closest one, as the teams are closely matched in roster quality- said Vetra, optimistically.

However, the reality is that Spartak getting to the final would be a major surprise. Triumph have been playing very well this entire season, both in the VTB league and in Eurochallenge. There they played the Final Four in Bologna last weekend, beating Szolnoki in the semifinal, but did not manage to go all the way. Home Reggio Emilia were better, denying Triumph the trophy they wanted.

-The game proved to be too hard for us, both physically and mentally, especially so for our younger players. IT was hard for them to handle the pressure of both the crowd and their opponents, who are a more experienced and mature team. Due to their rotation, we were forced to pull out players sooner and field players who were not ready for such a match. The players started to look for easy points, rush and play individually. We lost possessions and gave them the chance to score from counterattacks- said Karašev after the final match.

Triumph are now looking to get payback in the VTB league, where they have a chance to score big. First they face Spartak, and then Lietuvos Rytas in the quarterfinal. This means they can reach the semifinal without facing the strongest Russian teams, which is their reward for great games in the regular season. Triumph were by far the best team among the "rest" of the Group B teams, as Himki and CSKA were in a league of their own. One should keep in mind that Triumph's is the smallest budget of all the Russian teams in the VTB league, 11 times less than what CSKA are working with.

- I think the series against Spartak will be tough. They were breaking apart early in the season, but as playoff got closer and they got the chance after Donjeck stepped out, they started playing much better. However, I'm hoping we will get through into the quarterfinal- said president Leščenko, adding:

- If we get through Spartak, I think we have a good shot at getting into the semifinal. I hope we can make it.

The Final Four appearance did give Triumph a certain edge over Spartak, as it put them back in the competitive rhythm. Spartak have been without a game for 40 days, which is never pleasant during a season. Triumph looked very bad in their semifinal match against Szolnoki and though quality prevailed in the end, they were far from their best. One can expect Higgins, Chappell and the others to perform more like in the regular season this time around.

- There is some fatigue and loss of morale after the Eurochallenge Final Four. However, we're fully motivated for the Spartak game, as everyone is aware there is no room for error in the playoff, every match is crucial. We will go full out, and do our best to play well and make our fans happy-  said Vasilij Karašev, talking about the coming game.

- We're meeting our opponents with great respect. We've had to recover mentally from the defeat in the Eurochallenge. I hope we can switch to the VTB league from the very start, as we want to achieve the best possible result here- said Kuzjakin.

  • reads: 57
  • likes: 0
  • Thumbs up
  • Like this preview
Match result tip: 2   Goran
Odds Stake Min. odds Bookmaker
2.38 4/10 2.00 Pinnacle
The odds on Spartak are dropping even though there's not basis for it. I couldn't find any information about Triumph's main players missing and they are a far stronger team with a complete squad. Spartak's game is based on foreign players but Triumph's foreigners aren't any worse. In fact, Higgins was one of the best players in the Eurochallenge and one of the best in VTB regular season, Chappell is also a class player and Raković and Landry are better than Homan, who wasn't a regular player during his time in Cibona. In addition, Vetra himself said that Triumph have three Russian players competing for the national team and none of Spartak's players are even close. Triumph have better leaders, more depth and have been better this season. Spartak wouldn't even be here had Donetsk continued this competition. In addition, the long break will certainly be reflected in Spartak's performance, despite Vetra's optimism and this is another advantage for Triumph. The visitors want the semi-finals and a defeat here would put them in a very difficult situation and they are aware of how important this game is. The odds should be the other way around - Triumph have won some difficult away games this season (Dijon, Riga, Minsk, Ekaterinburg). Except in the early stages of the season when they had many problems with injuries and were without Higgins, the only teams that beat them were the very best ones. I think they should be able to justify their role as the favorites today as Spartak is far overrated, in my opinion.
Competition standings/performance
Championship standins/performance
Last matches
Next matches
Scored goals
Received goals
Total goals
Handicaps
Half time
Head to head
 

**There is a chance that the odds shown on this page are not actual odds at this moment, due to a slight delay in processing the odds.

Become a subscriber and access all previews and tips

Is it worth to miss out on so much good information for such a small amount of money? Can you afford not to subscribe?
SUBSCRIBE for only 3,44 € per day.

– LIVESCORE