On December 25, Minsk residents will meet with the leaders of the standings – CSKA Moscow in the final match of the 2023 VTB United League. Read more about the Moscow team in our preview.
Season 2023/24
MINSK met with CSKA almost at the start of the season. Since that time, the red and blue have confidently gained a foothold at the top of the standings and went almost undefeated, losing in the match against Lokomotiv Kuban (88:91).
However, the most unexpected game of the Muscovites turned out to be the last one against PARMA. At their home arena, the Permians became the second VTB United League team to break the streak of victories for Emil Raikovic wards, finishing the match with a score of 82:78.
CSKA will definitely set up an aggressive fight against MINSK in order to rehabilitate itself in the eyes of the fans and continue to lead the standings. The leader in scoring in the team is Casper Ware with average stats of 13.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists in 29 minutes on the floor. Forward Amat M'Bai averages 13.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 26 minutes of playing time.
Acting head coach Alexey Sukhovetsky: “The final game of 2023 is ahead, the leader of the standings is coming to visit us. CSKA is a very balanced team, dangerous, which has a number of leaders. Anton Astapkovich has been showing himself very well lately. Our task is to figure out how to make it harder for them to score points. We have a little time for this, taking into account the move, and we need to think about how we will implement it. As for our team, it is necessary to physically and mentally recover after the away game and prepare for CSKA. I take this opportunity to invite everyone to the Minsk Arena to support us in the game against a famous and strong opponent.”
The roster of the opponent:
CSKA Moscow
Defenders
1.Nikita Mikhailovsky, 09.10.2000, 203 cm, Russia,
2.Casper Ware, 17.01.1990, 178 cm, USA,
6. Melo Trimble, 02.02.1995, 188 cm, USA,
7. Ivan Ukhov, 11.09.1995, 193 cm, Russia,
21. Ivan Zaitsev, 02.15.2004, 197 cm, Russia,
23. Anton Kardanakhishvili, 19.03.2002, 195 cm, Russia.
Forwards
5. Pavel Zakharov, 03.05.2001, 212 cm, Russia,
8. Anton Astapkovich, 29.01.1994, 202 cm, Russia,
10. Samson Ruzhentsev, 23.10.2001, 201 cm, Russia,
11. Semyon Antonov, 07.18.1989, 202 cm, Russia,
24. Amat M'Bai, 12.14.1989, 206 cm, France.
The centers
3.Tony Jekiri, 07.23.1994, 213 cm, Nigeria,
17. Livio Jean-Charles, 08.11.1993, 206 cm, France,
27. Sergey Klyuev, 05.13.1998, 208 cm, Russia.
The head coach is Emil Rajkovic, North Macedonia.
About the match
We draw the attention of the audience that the match with CSKA will be interesting not only for bright basketball, but also for an exciting New Year's show program:
13:00 - all entertainment will be available in the hall of the arena (tasting areas, photo zones, aquagrim, basketball hoop, activities from a betting partner, etc.)
14:00 - the beginning of the show program: a solo performance by SERGEI SOBOL;
15:00 - start of the match;
The big break is the Dunker show and the KEYSI performance.
Tickets for the match can be purchased on the website and at points of sale kvitki.by , as well as at the box office of the arena on the day of the game from 13:00.
We are waiting for everyone to attend a bright basketball event!
Photo: VTB United League