Pre-game breakdown
Leningradka Derby is the most frequent in the history of domestic league. The teams met 10 times in the final games or series, CSKA prevailed 9 times.
The Army Men lost just one game in the VTB League playoffs under coach Dimitris Itoudis, who just signed 2-year contract extension.
Mikhail Kulagin (foot) is out for CSKA.
Pre-game quotes
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:
We start our final series against Khimki, our historical rival. We know each other well, they are very talented team, so it is going to be a tough series. I hope our fans will fill the stands and support us in the end of the season.
Close relations
Khimki players Alexey Shved, Sergey Monia and Egor Vialtsev all played for CSKA. Shved played parts of seven seasons for CSKA between 2005 and 2012 and won the 2008 EuroLeague with the club. Monia spent three seasons with CSKA and Vialtsev two. Rimas Kurtinaitis played for CSKA in the 1981-82 season.
Dimitris Itoudis coached Khimki guard Stefan Markovic two seasons ago in Turkey at Banvit Bandirma.
Markovic was a teammate of CSKA guard Nando De Colo during the 2011-12 season at Valencia Basket. The backcourt duo helped Valencia reach the EuroCup championship game that season.
Khimki forward Petr Gubanov and his CSKA counterpart Semen Antonov were teammates at Nizhny Novgorod during the 2013-14 season.
Past matchups
Wins-losses: 89-19.
CSKA biggest win: 104-64 (+40) (2002-03 Superleague Regular Season)
CSKA biggest loss: 85-67 (-18) (2007-08 Russian Cup Final)
Games of 2018-19 season:
13-Dec-2018. EuroLeague. Regular Season. CSKA – Khimki: 88-74 (+14)
14-Jan-2019. VTB League. Regular Season. CSKA – Khimki: 75-65 (+10)
04-Mar-2019. VTB League. Regular Season. Khimki – CSKA: 73-72 ОТ (-1)
29-Mar-2019. EuroLeague. Regular Season. Khimki – CSKA: 72-80 (+8)
Short dossier
Khimki Moscow Region
Founded: 1997
Colors: blue, yellow
Home court: Moscow Region Basketball Center (3,500), Arena Mytishchi (7,000)
President: Dmitry Golubkov
CEO: Pavel Astakhov
Head coach: Rimas Kurtinaitis
Website: www.bckhimki.ru
Trophy Case: 2-time Eurocup winners (2012, 15), Russian Cup winner (2008), VTB United League champion (2011), 9-time Russian League runner-up (2006, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18), Russian League bronze winner (2007), Russian Cup finalist (2006), FIBA-Europe Cup finalist (2006), Eurocup finalist (2009)
