The start of the confrontation between «Astana» and «Khimki» in the quarterfinals of the VTB United League

Russian Powerhouse against the biggest surprise of the VTB United League Season, Anthony Clemmons vs. Alexey Shved,  Rimas Kurtinaitis against Emil Rajkovic.

Regular Championship:

• «Khimki» - 3-rd place (20 wins, 6 losses)
• «Astana» — 6-th place (15 wins, 11 losses)

Series Schedule:

• Match number 1. Russia, Khimki, BTsMO — May 5, 7:00 pm
• Match number 2. Russia, Khimki, BTsMO — May 7, 23:00
• Match number 3. Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, Saryarka Bicycle Track — May 10, 19:30
• * Match number 4. Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, Saryarka Bicycle Track — May 12 — 15:00
• * Match number 5. Russia, Khimki, BTsMO — May 15, 23:00

Three questions for the series:

Will “Astana” have enough strength for the series?

«Astana» had an excellent selection in the 2018 off-season. All newcomers fit into the composition and bring great benefits. The problem is their limited number: there are 8 basketball players in active rotation (10 minutes or more) of the Kazakhstan club. There are 14 such players in BC “Khimki’’.

Basketball players from Nur-Sultan in the course of matches often have to save themselves from busting fouls, and also demonstrate the wonders of endurance in the endings. Will Astana cope with these tasks in a tight schedule of a series of playoffs against a team that possesses one of the best rebounds of players in the League?

Will we see the best version of Anthony Clemmons?

Clemmons at the start of the regular season proved to be the leader of BC «Astana». He became a regular of the top five of the week and was recognized as the MVP of the League in December. The defender often took the initiative and did it justifiably, gaining a lot of points and actively distributing assists. In the first 18 matches of the season, Clemmons scored an average of 16.8 points and 5.6 assists. The fight against BC “Kalev” on March 11 was the last when Anthony scored more than 10 points per match. In the course of the 7-game segment at the finish of the regular season, the naturalized Kazakhstani player who lost his former aggression gained only 6.1 points on average per game. To compete with the finalist of the last two seasons, “Astana” needs Clemmons, as we saw him in the first half of the season.

Alexey Shved’s factor?

Shved — the most dangerous player in the League.It looks like sometimes only he is able to stop him from total domination. In April, Alexey scored an excellent form: in the last four games, the Russian gained an average of 26.2 points and 5.7 assists. In the decisive matches of the year, the guard plays with even greater desire and can pull out whole matches (against UNICS in the Final Four ”-2018) or even a series (against Zenit in the semifinal of play-off-2017). As part of «Astana» there is no strong defence game specialist who could constantly provide serious resistance to the Khimki’s superstar. After the appearance of Jannis Timma in Khimki, another versatile and strong individual player who just needs to pay attention to, it has become even more difficult to hold back the yellow and blue on the perimeter. Shved has good chances to become the main character of the upcoming quarterfinal confrontation.

We remind you that  Ticketon.kz has already opened the sale of tickets for the «Astana» home match against «Khimki» within the quarter finals of the VTB United League, which will be held on Friday May 10 at the Saryarka track arena according to the capital time.

Detailed information about tournaments, tournament tables, the schedule and results of matches are published in the section Tournaments.