From scratch
You can forget about the results of the regular season. In the playoffs it all starts again. On the other hand, you need to remember those results. After all, the meetings with Enisey, our quarterfinal opponent, in the second round were unsuccessful for our team...
Record after record. Unfortunately
The Krasnoyarsk team is perhaps one of the most inconvenient for Muscovites this season. At the first stage, CSKA won twice, but each time spent a lot of effort. And in the top-6, both meetings ended with defeats for the red-blues, which were memorable for the opponents.
At Megasport on March 20, the team seemed to be in control, but literally failed in the last quarter offensively, scoring only one field goal. This allowed Enisey to defeat CSKA in the capital for the first time in history, and Jeremiah Martin set a personal scoring record of 28 points.
On April 7, at the Arena-Sever, the entire trio of Krasnoyarsk leaders gave a great game against the Moscow team. Martin, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Micheal Hopkins scored a total of 77 points, and this time it was Hopkins' turn to set a personal best - he scored 27 points, to which he also added 13 rebounds. And that same evening Rathan-Mayes updated the historical VTB League record for points in a season, surpassing Keith Langford.
By the way, there was also a hero of the day in the ranks of CSKA - Semen Antonov played his 350th game in the League and scored his 1000th field goal.
New reality
The main change before the start of the playoffs was the arrival of Andreas Pistiolis, who replaced Emil Rajkovic as head coach. Naturally, it affected the training process and forced the team to work seven days a week - there was very little time to adjust the system. In addition, the teammates had to adapt to Casper Ware, who, after surgery and a long recovery process, is gradually joining the team’s practices and getting into shape. The coaching staff will make a decision on his participation on the day of the match.
Another important point is the games in Krylatskoye. It is clear that Basket Hall has been hosting CSKA games for several years now, but at this stage it has not yet been possible to play here. Good to mention that the previous results in this arena in the VTB League for the team were only positive.
“We are turning the page, the playoffs begin,” said CSKA head coach Andreas Pistiolis. “We are up against a team that showed its qualities and capabilities during the regular season. But we are focused on our game. Together with our fans we want to show what we are capable of; we need victories that will give us confidence.”
Past match-ups
Win/Loss Ratio: 36-4
Games of the 2023-24 season:
03-Oct-2023. 1st stage. CSKA – Enisey: 73-64 (+9)
06-Dec-2023. 1st stage. Enisey – CSKA: 75-80 (+5)
20-Mar-2024. 2nd stage. CSKA – Enisey: 65-74 (-9)
07-Apr-2024. 2nd stage. Enisey – CSKA: 86-81 (-5)
Brief dossier
Enisey Krasnoyarsk
Founded: 1981
Colors: blue, white
Home arena: Arena-Sever (3,000 spectators)
Director: Vladimir Petrokovsky
Head Coach: Jovica Arsic
Website: www.basket-enisey.ru
Trophy case: 2006-07 SuperLeague B champion, 2011 Russian Cup bronze winner
