“Another tough game ahead of us, Loko is a very good team which established good game both in Euroleague and VTB League,” CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis said. “Definitely regarding our first meeting this season both teams will have different faces. Fesenko is not in Lokomotiv anymore, Randolph is back, they added Janning also; on the other side in Krasnodar we did not have Khryapa, Higgins and Freeland. We expect high-intensity game. Loko has several ways to defend, they established good offensive games, they move the ball well which is their identity. We should be aggressive on both ends, keep our level of concentration and motivation high for all 40 minutes. We also need help from our fans, every voice is important now as we entered the series of very difficult games, and each of this games is like a final for us.”
Demetris Nichols (broken foot bone) is out for CSKA. Mikhail Kulagin and Anton Astapkovich are back from playing for the junior team in St.Petersburg. Though Astapkovich will participate in the Young Stars Game (together with CSKA-2 players Alexander Gavrilov and Alexander Kurbatov) which starts at 14:30 on main arena.
Past match-ups
Wins/losses: 45-7,
In Moscow: 26-2, in Rostov: 9-1, in Krasnodar: 10-4
CSKA biggest margin of victory – 10.04.2004. Moscow. Russian Cup quarterfinals: 116-67 (+49)
Lokomotiv biggest margin of victory – 10.05.2014. VTB United League quarterfinals: 66-81 (-15)
Last game in Moscow – 01.02.2015. VTB United League regular season: 76-78 (-2)
Last game in Krasnodar – 09.11.2015. VTB United League regular season: 65-77 (+12)
Short Dossier
Lokomotiv-Kuban Krasnodar
Founded: 2003 (Lokomotiv-Rostov)
Clolors: red, green, white
Home Arena: Basket Hall (7,500)
President: Andrey Vedishchev
Head Coach: Giorgios Bartsokas
Website: www.lokobasket.com
Accomplishments: Eurocup winner (2013), VTB United League runner-up (2013), BEKO PBL bronze medal winner (2011-12), Eurochallenge runner-up (2011), FIBA-Europe Cup runner-up (2005)
