Weekend Game Previews

Five games are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, April 16

VEF (Latvia) - Avtodor (Russia)
Time: 4:00 PM (4:00 PM MSK)
Place: Arena Riga, Latvia, Riga
TV: Riga TV (Latvia), Match! Nash sport (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

VEF: Riga has won three of its last five games and tested Khimki and CSKA in recent meetings. Against Avtodor, the home team hopes to repeat last season's success, when the club scored 100 points in a win vs. Saratov.

Avtodor: Though the offense sputtered a bit, Saratov picked up another win vs. Kalev, the team's 10th in a row. Having clinched a top-6 finish, Avtodor could move even higher and will try to complete the Baltic sweep on Saturday.

Sunday, April 17

Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus) - Nizhny Novgorod (Russia)
Time: 3:00 PM (3:00 PM MSK)
Place: Minsk Arena, Minsk, Belarus
TV: Belarus-5 (Belarus), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Tsmoki-Minsk: The Dragons have lost five in a row, beginning with the defeat to Vita and continuing with losses to CSKA, Lokomotiv, Zenit and Khimki. Minsk hopes to end the skid against Nizhny Novgorod, even though the Belarusians are 0-5 all-time against Ainars Bagatskis's club.

Nizhny Novgorod: After a shocking 28-point defeat to VEF at home, Ainars Bagatskis admitted that it was the most painful loss of the season. Nizhny Novgorod will probably be seeking redemption against the Dragons. The club also recently learned that forward Victor Rudd has been named to the All-Eurocup Second Team.

Bisons (Finland) - Krasny Oktyabr (Russia)
Time: 4:00 PM (4:00 PM MSK)
Place: Loimaa Sports Hall, Loimaa, Finland
TV: Elisa Viihde (Finland), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Bisons: Loimaa will finish the United League season at home. The Finns are 2-1 against Volgograd and would love to give the fans something to cheer about in the final game of the 2015-16 campaign. Bisons can also complete a season sweep of Krasny Oktyabr with a win.

Krasny Oktyabr: The Steelmen have a busy schedule, playing on April 17 in Finland before returning to Moscow for a rescheduled April 20 meeting with UNICS. The offense will be key in this matchup: Volgograd scores 84.1 points per game to Bisons' modest 74.8.

Nymburk (Czech Republic) - Khimki (Russia)
Time: 4:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: SA Nymburk, Nymburk, Czech Republic
TV: TV Nova Sport (Czech Republic), Match! Nash sport (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Nymburk: The moment of truth is here for Nymburk. The Czechs can't catch Saratov, but the race for 7th is still wide open. A win at home vs. Khimki would give Nymburk a lot of confidence entering the showdown with 8th-place Nizhny Novgorod on the final day of the regular season.

Khimki: Khimki needs a win to stay in front of Avtodor and keep its hopes alive for a top-3 finish. Moscow Region will likely be favored on the road. After all, Nymbuk has only defeated one team from the top-8 this season.

Enisey (Russia) - UNICS (Russia)
Time: 7:10 PM (3:10 PM MSK)
Place: Sports Palace, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
TV: Match! Nash sport (Russia), United League TV
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Enisey: The FIBA Europe Cup Final Four starts on April 29, featuring Krasnoyarsk. The Siberians have already been eliminated from VTB United League postseason competition, making Sunday's game vs. UNICS an excellent warmup prior to the most important games of the season.

UNICS: One year ago, Evgeny Pashutin's men traveled to Krasnoyarsk as favorites, but ended up suffering a surprising defeat in the final minutes, undone by Enisey's Pavel Sergeev. Kazan has been much more consistent, however, this spring, and is less likely to suffer an unexpected setback.