On Saturday, May 12, the capital's basketball club will hold the final masts of the regular VTB United League championship against the Avtodor team from the city of Saratov.

Chronicle of past meetings:

Basketball club from the city of Saratov in the VTB United League since 2014. Prior to VTB, the Saratov team successfully played in the Super League of Russia, where they became numerous prize-winners and champions of the tournament. Regarding personal meetings "Astana" - "Avtodor", the teams met on the site 7 times, 4 of which were in favor of the Kazakh team.

This season the teams have already met on the site of Saratov. Then in a dramatic match with two overtime, the victory went to the hosts with a score of 92:86.

Interesting fact:

The head coach of Astana Mikhail Karpenko from 2007 to 2011 worked in Saratov. In different years, Mikhail Vladimirovich served as head coach in DUBL, was an assistant and head coach in the main team of Avtodor, when the team took part in the Higher League and in the Super League of Russia. With Avtodor, Karpenko became the Super League champion in the 2008/2009 season.

Current situation:

Italian team Andrea Masson took the team this season, but for family reasons Masson left Saratov in November 2017. He was succeeded by the famous Russian expert Evgeny Pashutin.

The leader of the team is American center Coty Clark, who brings his team 20 points per game on average.

Standings:

Basketball club "Avtodor" is located in a comfortable 5 place and has long secured a place in the playoffs. Saratov has in its active 13 - wins from 23 games played.

The capital club takes 10th place and continues to fight for the playoffs.

Commentary of the head coach of BC "Astana", Mikhail Karpenko:

- We are approaching the final game in the regular season of the VTB League with a great desire to win. It so happened that our chances of getting into the playoffs are still preserved, but two conditions must be fulfilled. The first, and most important, of them: we need to win "AVTODOR". Second: we are satisfied only with the victory of "Zenith" over "Cmoki-Minsk". Not everything depends on us, but the players of "ASTANA" are determined and very responsibly preparing for this match.

"Avtodor" plays well, and we do not expect an easy match, because our rivals are fighting for the fifth line in the final table. This team professes a fast style of play, seeks to score points in a quick breakthrough and early attack, and in this component they are some of the best in the league. In positional attacks, "Avtodor" prefers to play through the peak-n-roll or creates "isolation" for its leaders. Undoubtedly, the most dangerous player in their lineup is Koti Clark, who was recently recognized by MVP League VTB in April, and he is also the best player in the championship in terms of performance.

We have several main tasks in this match: to stop the opponent's fast transition, to choose the best defense system against the barriers, to cope in the game one-on-one with the leaders of Avtodor. In an attack, we should be smart and patient and attack more through weak links in defending the opponent. The most important factor will also be the struggle for selection. We all understand this and are preparing for a decisive battle. I believe that our guys will give everything they can on Saturday on the floor for the sake of victory!

Where, when, at what time?

Arena: Cycling track "Saryarka"

Time: 15.00 by the time of Astana

Translation: The site of VTB United League, the site of BK "Astana" TV channel «QazSport»

Source: pbcastana.kz