CSKA — Lokomotiv Kuban, 07 April 2026

Return to Megasport

The Army Men continued their usual schedule: they rested the day after the away game and held their only full pre-game training session. However, this time it was at Megasport, where the team returned on Monday. The red-and-blues worked with a full squad.

"Games between CSKA and Lokomotiv are always special," said CSKA head coach Andreas Pistiolis. "We've met many times this season, but it's important not to dwell on previous games; this will be a completely different game. We need to approach this seriously and with focus to overcome such a strong opponent."

Battle for position

With a win in any of the following games, CSKA will secure first place in the regular season standings and, accordingly, home-court advantage in all stages of the playoffs. Lokomotiv has only secured advantage in the first stage; Tomislav Tomović's team cannot drop below fourth. Theoretically, Krasnodar has a chance to rise to third place by overcoming a three-win deficit to Zenit in its remaining four games. This is a difficult task, and if it fails, the bracket could pit CSKA and Lokomotiv against each other in the semifinals.

Although he has only played three games for his new team, Alen Hadžibegovic, who arrived from Avtodor, immediately became the Railwaymen's top scorer (17.0 points) and rebounder (7.7 rebounds). He left behind the usual leaders Patrick Miller (14.3 points, 6.8 assists), Jeremiah Martin (13.7 points, 3.8 assists), and Vince Hunter (11.3 points, 5.8 rebounds). Anton Kvitkovskikh (9.4 points) and club’s alum Vsevolod Ishchenko (8.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 51.1% three-point shooting) are having a good season.

Past matchups

Win-loss ratio: 78-19,
in Moscow: 41-7, in Rostov: 9-1, in Krasnodar: 27-10, on the neutral court (Berlin): 1-0.

Games of the 2025-26 season:

VTB League. 01-Nov-2025. CSKA – Lokomotiv-Kuban: 104-64 (+40)
VTB League. 05-Dec-2025. Lokomotiv-Kuban – CSKA: 90-95 ОТ (+5)
WBC. 25-Dec-2025. Lokomotiv-Kuban - CSKA: 81-89 (+8)
VTB League. 22-Feb-2026. Lokomotiv-Kuban - CSKA: 63-92 (+29)
WBC. 11-Mar-2026. CSKA – Lokomotiv-Kuban: 93-89 (+4)

Brief dossier

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, Russia
Founded: 1946
Colors: red, green, white
Home court: Basket Hall (7,500)
President: Andrey Vedishchev
Head coach: Tomislav Tomovic
Website: www.lokobasket.com
Trophy case: Euroleague bronze winner (2016), EuroCup winner (2013), 2-times VTB United League runner-up (2013, 2023), BEKO PBL bronze winner (2012), Eurochallenge runner-up (2011), FIBA Europe Cup runner-up (2005), Russian Cup winner (2018)