Steps to progress

With optimism

Two victories in a row after a series of defeats added optimism and strengthened the team’s position in the standings. It is clear that this achievement is still difficult to consider as a serious one, but at least now the red-and-blues already have home-court advantage in their pocket at the first stage of the playoffs. There are still five games left before the end of the second group stage, and no one is going to stop - CSKA now shares the lead with UNICS and expects to fight for the highest positions before the start of the playoffs.

Along the way, the Muscovites received a full day off on Monday, after which they continued to work with the same roster of players. The only one left outside the team is Casper Ware, who is recovering from foot surgery.

No more surprises

“Enisey was a surprise team for the opponents in the beginning of the season, but now I think everybody got accustomed to considering them one of the top teams in the league,” CSKA head coach Emil Rajkovic said. “We know it perfectly because both games that we played on the first stage turned out to be very difficult ones. Rathan-Mayes keeps his high-scoring pace in every game, Martin helps with his creation, the team has a number of quality role players that play well within the system. We made certain progress in the last couple of weeks and we want to continue improving as the playoff time nears. The next game will be very important for us to make a next step in this progress.”

Xavier Rathan-Mayes remains the VTB League leader in scoring (25.6), and by a large margin - the closest pursuers score an average of six points less. Jeremiah Martin is also in the top with 17.6 points - he has seventh place. Army Men graduate Vladimir Karpenko also plays a significant role in the team, consistently receiving playing time and never leaving the court without scoring points in the previous 15 games. The young guard's averages this season are 4.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists.

Past match-ups

Win/Loss Ratio: 36-2

Game of the 2023-24 season:

03-Oct-2023. CSKA – Enisey: 73-64 (+9)
06-Dec-2023. Enisey – CSKA: 75-80 (+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