Preview to the match of the regular season of the VTB United League-2022/23
Avtodor (Saratov, Russia) vs. "Astana" (Kazakhstan).
VTB United League. Regular Championship.
Avtodor (Saratov, Russia) - Astana (Kazakhstan).
The 4th of October. 19.00 Saratov time (18.00 Moscow time). Saratov. DS "Crystal".
Judges: Ilya Putenko, Artem Lavrukhin, Maxim Zhitlukhin (all from Russia).
Commissioner: Vladimir Khlopikov (Russia).
Broadcast: TK "Start"; official website of the VTB United League .
Head-to-head matches in the VTB League: 9:6 in favor of Avtodor.
See comparison of teams against each other
INTRODUCING AN OPPONENT - BC ASTANA
"Avtodor" will open the next basketball season in Saratov with a meeting with the 10-time champion of Kazakhstan "Astana" . The Volga region team, for objective reasons, gathered late in full force and harnessed for a long time in friendly games. However, a confident victory over Parma-Pari in the final pre-season match in Perm with a score of 90:78 should give our guys an impulse and inspire confidence in their abilities on the eve of the start of the VTB United League regular season.
Last season was not the best for our rivals. For the first time in history, Astana took the last, 10th place in the regular season of the VTB United League, winning 2 out of 18 matches - away from the future winner of the tournament Zenit ( 83:69 ) and at home against the league semi-finalist Lokomotiv- Kuban" ( 87:83 ).
In the domestic arena, the club from the capital of Kazakhstan for the 10th time in the last 11 years (with a break for the 2015/16 season) became the champion of the country, having beaten Barsy Atyrau (3-0) in the final series. However, Astana failed to raise the national cup for the sixth year in a row - in a tense ending, Barsy Atyrau celebrated the victory in the February final with a score of 70:66 .
In the summer, Astana was headed by Oleg KISELEV from the Almaty Legion. The 44-year-old Russian specialist worked in Saratov in 2017 and led Avtodor-2 to the final 6th place in the Final Eight of the VTB United Youth League.
Among the acquisitions of the club of the same name in the offseason, we note two American legionnaires - 29-year-old point guard Deondre PARKS from the Hungarian ZTE and 30-year-old center Mike MYERS from the South Korean Sonicboom, as well as the 35-year-old ex-forward of Khimki, UNICS, Lokomotiv- Kuban, Triumph and Anvil Valery LIKHODEYA , who last season defended the colors of Perm Parma-Pari.
Unlike Avtodor, the team from Astana accelerated preparations due to the earlier start of the official season. At the end of September, the team of Oleg Kiselev has already managed to win 2 victories in the national championship - at home over the current owner of the Kazakhstan Cup "Barsami Atyrau" 92:59 and 77:64 . In the first meeting, Dmitry Gavrilov (17 points + 4 steals) and Mike Myers (16 points) and Roman Marchuk (14 points + 5 rebounds) became the most productive. In the second - Daniil Aksenov (19 points + 5 rebounds), Vadim Shcherbak (12 points) and Mike Myers (10 points + 6 rebounds).
Earlier, "Astana" held 5 control meetings with local clubs within the two-week training camp in Istanbul, of which they won three. The flagship of Kazakhstani basketball was defeated by Beshiktash ( 71:95 ) and Sigortam.net ITU ( 70:78 ).
COMPOSITION:
Astana has 4 legionnaires: two Americans and two Russians. The average height of the team is 194 cm, the average age is 28 years.
Team composition – BC "Astana"
TRANSITIONS:
OUT: acting Serbian head coach Dejan Parezhanin, forwards Mark Tikhonenko (MBA Moscow, Russia) and Nikolai Bazhin, center Robert Pan.
CAME: Russian head coach Oleg KISELEV (Almaty Legion Almaty), American point guard Deondre PARKS (ZTE Zalaegerszeg, Hungary), American center Mike MYERS (Sonicboom Suwon, South Korea), Russian forward Valery LIHODEY (Parma-Pari) Perm Territory, Russia), Russian defender Daniil AKSENOV (Temp-SUMZ-UMMC Revda, Russia), forwards Roman MARCHUK (Barsy Atyrau) and Konstantin Neff (Caspiy Aktau).
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS:
The history of confrontations between "Avtodor" and "Astana" has 18 matches. In face-to-face meetings, the Saratov team has an advantage - 11:7 . The first meeting of the teams is dated September 26, 2013 - at the Nesterov Cup in Nizhny Novgorod, the Russian club turned out to be stronger - 91:85 . That victory allowed black and white, then still representing the second most important division of the Russian championship (Superleague), to sensationally win a trophy in a tournament where its rivals were exclusively the clubs of the VTB United League.
And personal meetings with Avtodor in the 2015/16 season will be nightmares for Kazakh fans for a long time to come. Two matches in Saratov and Astana ended with unconditional victories for the Russians with a total score of 263:185 (“+78”!). Moreover, in these games, the Volga players twice rewrote the VTB League performance records - on December 6, 2015 in the capital of Kazakhstan ( 131:93 ) and on March 26, 2016 on the parquet floor of the Crystal Palace ( 132:92 ).
It should be noted that Avtodor has not yielded to Astana for more than three and a half years - since February 2, 2019. At the moment, the unbeaten streak of black and white in the confrontation with the capital club has 5 matches. Last season, both head-to-head matches were won by Avtodor - on November 7, 2021 on the floor of the DS Kristall with a score of 83:82 and on March 20 in the capital of Kazakhstan with a score of 84:61 .
September 26, 2013 Nesterov Cup.
Astana - Avtodor - 85:86 (Simon 18 - Likholitov 23).
November 15, 2014 VTB United League Championship.
Astana - Avtodor - 86:85 (Brown 21 - Chappelle 19).
November 19, 2014 FIBA Challenge Cup. Group D. 3rd round.
Avtodor - Astana - 83:75 (Peterson 21 - Brown 19).
December 16, 2014 FIBA Challenge Cup. Group D. 6th round.
Astana - Avtodor - 75:73 (Brown 27 - Peterson, Chappelle 15).
March 1, 2015 VTB United League Championship.
Avtodor - Astana - 83:94 (Fesenko 21 - Johnson 22).
December 6, 2015 VTB United League Championship.
Astana - Avtodor - 93:131 (Hayes 19 - Stoll 24).
March 26, 2016 VTB United League Championship.
Avtodor - Astana - 132:72 (Stall 23 - Yargaliev 16).
October 2, 2016 VTB United League Championship.
Astana - Avtodor - 83:78 (Miller 32 - Minnerat 23).
February 25, 2017 VTB United League Championship.
Avtodor - Astana - 78:79 (Minnerat 23+8 rebounds - Miller 24).
January 20, 2018 VTB United League Championship.
Avtodor – Astana – 92:86 2OT (Frazier 21+5 rebounds+5 assists – Kaselakis 19+8 rebounds).
May 12, 2018 VTB United League Championship.
Astana - Avtodor - 75:92 (Grant 22 - Clark 30 + 7 rebounds + 3 steals).
December 23, 2018 VTB United League Championship.
Astana – Avtodor – 100:83 OT (Grossell 26+8 rebounds – Clemmons 24+9 assists+5 rebounds).
February 2, 2019 VTB United League Championship.
Avtodor - Astana - 64:88 (Buford 16 + 6 rebounds + 3 blocks - Horton 20 + 7 rebounds).
November 16, 2019 VTB United League Championship.
Avtodor - Astana - 90:85 (Reap 22 + 13 rebounds + 3 steals - Clarke 28 + 7 rebounds).
October 22, 2020 VTB United League Championship.
Avtodor - Astana - 107:85 (Mason, Mikhailovsky 21 - Hill 22)
January 31, 2021 VTB United League Championship.
Astana - Avtodor - 83:92 (Shakic 20 + 11 rebounds - Thompson 20).
November 7, 2021 VTB United League Championship.
Avtodor - Astana - 83:82 (Shakic 22 + 5 assists - Burford 26 + 5 rebounds, Hickey 21 + 8 rebounds + 6 assists + 5 steals).
March 20, 2022 VTB United League Championship.
Astana - Avtodor - 61:84 (Campbell 11 - Johnson 23 + 6 assists + 4 interceptions).
BOOKMAKER FORECAST:
Bookmakers give preference to the hosts. The odds for Avtodor's victory are 1.51 , for the success of the guests - 2.55 .
OUR RIVAL:
JSC "ASTANA" (KAZAKHSTAN)
Year of foundation: 2011.
Club colors: black, green.
Achievements: 10-time champion of Kazakhstan (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022), 9-time winner of the Cup of Kazakhstan (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), bronze medalist of the FIBA Asian Champions Cup (2017), silver medalist of the Kazakhstan Championship (2016), finalist of the Kazakhstan Cup (2022), quarterfinalist of the VTB United League Championship (2015, 2017, 2019).
Performance in the 2021/22 season: champion of Kazakhstan (victory in the final over Barsy Atyrau - 3-0); finalist of the Cup of Kazakhstan (lost in the final from Barca Atyrau - 66:70); 10th place in the VTB United League regular season (2 wins–16 losses).
Home arena: Saryarka cycling track (9270 spectators).
General Director: Samvel Arakelyan.
Head coach: Oleg Kiselev (Russia).
Official website: www.pbcastana.kz .
Results of pre-season matches of BC Astana:
September 13: Haremspor (Istanbul, Turkey) - Astana - 63:77
September 16: "Sigortam.net ITU" (Istanbul, Turkey) - "Astana" - 78:70
September 18: Fenerbahce Colleges (Istanbul, Turkey) - Astana - 83:84
September 21: Besiktas (Istanbul, Turkey) - Astana - 95:71
September 24: Istanbul BB (Istanbul, Turkey) - Astana - 41:73
TOTAL: 3 wins, 2 losses.
ABOUT THE CLUB:
Astana, the leading basketball club in Kazakhstan, was established in March 2011 with the support of the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna and is the successor to the Astana Tigers. In the very first year of its foundation, Astana residents took the Cup of the country. Our rivals are 10-time champions of Kazakhstan and 9-time winners of the Cup of the country. The capital club has won all 10 titles over the past 11 years - with the only break for the 2015/16 season, when Barca from Atyrau became the strongest. In the VTB United League, Astana reached the quarterfinals three times.
Acting in parallel in Asian and European tournaments, the club from Astana became the only one who participated in the competitions of two continents at the same time. The prosperity of BC "Astana" is largely due to its permanent leader - Olympic champion Valery TIKHONENKO , who began his career in Almaty SKA. Since the 2011/12 season, Astana has been playing in the VTB United League, becoming the first and only representative of Central Asia in the tournament.
In the 2014/15 season, the capital's team for the first time took part in European club competitions - the FIBA Challenge Cup, finishing at the "Top 16" stage. In September 2017, Astana residents achieved their highest achievement in the international arena, becoming the bronze medalist of the FIBA Asian Champions Cup. American defender and team leader Justin CARTER entered the symbolic top five of the tournament.
In May 2022, 44-year-old Samson ARAKELYAN replaced Valery Tikhonenko as the club's general director.
ARENA:
Astana hosts its rivals in a sports hall designed for 9200 spectators. Arena "Saryarka" is multifunctional. This sports facility is considered one of the best in the world.
