CSKA — Lokomotiv Kuban, 11 March 2026

Everything decided

It's a bit of a shame that this meeting between two teams representing the elite of modern Russian basketball carries no tournament significance. In the short Cup season, the opponents' fates are already decided: CSKA has secured first place in Group A, while Lokomotiv-Kuban has no chance of reaching the Final Four, even theoretically. Against this backdrop, the game becomes a prestige match and/or a testing ground. Of course, both the red-blues and the red-greens are eager to win, but they are keeping an eye on the future.

The Army Men continue to work hard to improve their game. After returning from Nizhny Novgorod, the players trained at Basket Hall, moving to Megasport today. Only Ivan Zaitsev, who is recovering from an injury, is currently training on an individual program.

"Regardless of the situation, games against Lokomotiv are interesting and intense," notes CSKA head coach Andreas Pistiolis. "I hope that with the support of our fans, we can achieve a good result."

Every time someone new

Unlike the VTB League regular season, leadership roles are distributed differently in the Krasnodar team during the cup games. Vince Hunter leads the team in scoring and rebounding (16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds), while Cassius Robertson who left the team remains second (13.7 points). Patrick Miller (13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists) and Jeremiah Martin (13.3 points, 6.7 assists, 2.3 steals) follow with impressive numbers.

Head coach Tomislav Tomovic will likely try to make the most of newcomer Alen Hadzibegovic, who was lured from Avtodor. The Montenegrin center scored 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the recent victory over Enisey, proving that he is a serious addition to the front line.

Past matchups

Win-loss ratio: 77-19,
in Moscow: 40-7, 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)

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)