This Saturday, February 3, Minsk residents in Saratov will play the last match of the 1st stage of the VTB United League against Avtodor. For more information, see the preview.
Season 2023/24
Earlier in the season, the teams met in November 2023, when Avtodor occupied the 13th place in the standings with three wins in 11 matches. Now the opponent from Saratov has no chance of getting into the top six teams in the second stage and, accordingly, into the playoffs. Avtodor is currently on the 11th line with 9 wins, but over the past five matches, Milenko Bogichevich's wards have been accompanied by defeats. The hosts of the venue will welcome Minsk residents who are determined to close the first stage with a victory with the support of their fans.
Roster
In the midst of the first stage, 28-year-old defender from Serbia Vasile Pusica left the club, but Avtodor immediately announced the return of 26-year-old defender Malik Newman to the team. Also in December 2023, the Saratov club announced the return of center Brandon Garrett to the team. Last season, Garrett already played for Avtodor, he was third on the team in terms of performance and second in terms of rebounds and steals.
The Russian club started the year 2024 with another signing. The new player of the team was defender Vitaly Fridzon, who played 43 games for Zenit in the 2022/23 season, scoring 3.1 points and making 1.4 rebounds on average per game.
Currently, the leaders of the team are Rashon Hammonds (16.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists in 28.41 minutes on the floor) and Malik Newman. In 6 matches, Malik scored an average of 15.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.0 steals in just over 28 minutes on the court.
MINSK defender Uladzislau Mikulski: “The final game of the first stage awaits us. Avtodor plays very aggressive attacking basketball with a lot of fast breaks. Now we are focusing on what kind of basketball they demonstrate and setting ourselves the goal - to use our opportunities wisely, stop their fast attack, and play well in defense. After the game, the team will prepare for the second stage in order to maximize the result”.
The roster of the opponent
Avtodor, Saratov:
Guards
0. Syndarius Thornwell, 11.15.1994, 196 cm, USA,
1. Vitalijus Pranauskis, 08.12.2002, 195 cm, Russia,
8. Matvey Popov, 01.25.2004, 194 cm, Russia,
14. Malik Newman, 02.21.1997, 190 cm, USA,
30. Dominik Mavra, 06.15.1994, 195 cm, Croatia,
77. Vitaly Fridzon, 14.10.1985, 195 cm, Russia.
Forwards
3. Dusan Beslac, 06.10.1998, 206 cm, Serbia,
7. Denis Naumov, 05.14.2003, 202 cm, Russia,
9. Alexander Petenev, 11.24.2000, 197 cm, Russia,
12. Andrey Fedorov, 08.19.2003, 200 cm, Russia,
15. Garrett Brandon, 30.08.1990, 206 cm, USA,
47. Yaroslav Pechenjian, 03.13.2004, 199 cm, Russia.
The centers
11. Dmitry Khaldeev, 03.04.1999, 210 cm, Russia,
13. Rayshon Hammonds, 11.10.1997, 206 cm, USA,
33. Marat Tsybikov, 07.18.2001, 215 cm, Russia.
The head coach is Milenko Bogichevich, Russia.
The game will take place on February 3 at 15:00. The broadcast will be available on the VTB United League website.