Finally, neighbors!

Veterans lead the way

Due to the schedule, CSKA is facing their neighbors at Basket Hall for the first time this season (not counting a preparatory friendly in September). Meanwhile, the red-blues are in full swing with their second-round games, and have already faced BETCITY Parma three times, including the WINLINE Basket Cup game. Meanwhile, Vasily Karasev's team has had a strong start to the tournament, cementing itself in the top six.

For the second season in a row, veteran Andrei Zubkov remains the Muscovites' leader in scoring and rebounds (15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds). Vyacheslav Zaitsev, who joined the team in the summer, is the only remaining player averaging double-digit points (10.4), along with 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Vladislav Trushkin (9.9 points, 41.1% from three) and young Pavel Savkov (7.2 points, 39.2% from three), who arrived from Spain, are a threat from the arc.

Home, like away

"It's not easy to play a home game on a court that's actually your opponent's home”, CSKA head coach Andreas Pistiolis said. “We need to approach this game much more seriously from the start than we did the previous one, because MBA-MAI has proven this season that it's a strong team that plays high-level basketball."

The team returned from Yekaterinburg on a Rossiya/Aeroflot charter flight immediately after their game against Uralmash and got a well-deserved day off on Wednesday. Afterwards, they returned to training at the Basket Hall. Livio Jean-Charles, who had missed the previous session due to illness, participated in contact training. Left out were Tonye Jekiri, who was working individually, Vladimir Karpenko, who was recovering from a muscle injury in his leg, and Ivan Zaitsev, who had a fever.

Past matchups

Win/loss ratio: 10-0

Games of the 2024-25 season:

06-Nov-2024. MBA-MAI – CSKA: 67-83 (+16)
15-Dec-2024. CSKA – MBA-MAI: 84-67 (+17)
15-Jan-2025. MBA-MAI – CSKA: 65-88 (+23)
22-Mar-2025. CSKA – MBA-MAI: 90-62 (+28)

Brief dossier

MBA-MAI Moscow

Founded: 2011
Colors: white, red
Home arena: Basket Hall Moscow (5,000 spectators)
President: Tatyana Kocharyan
Head coach: Vasily Karasev
Website: mbabasket.pro
Trophy case: 2014 Russian Major League runners-up, bronze medalist of the Russian Cup (2023, 2025)