Minsk — CSKA, 25 December 2023

It's already a holiday here

It's a day off in the Belarusian capital. Both Christmases are celebrated here, so the game takes place in the daytime which is convenient for the local public.

The red-blues are still far from the vacations, although the coaches have already promised a break for the New Year. In the meantime, the team is working in Krylatskoye, fighting its way through seasonal illnesses that incapacitate the players. Samson Ruzhentsev returned to work but Sergei Klyuev dropped out of action. Therefore, Ivan Zaitsev remains in Emil Rajkovic’s rotation. By the way, Ivan helped CSKA-2 defeat Temp-SUMZ, one of the SuperLeague leaders, on Saturday.

Changed Minsk

Since the last meeting, the Belarusian team has undergone serious changes - Minsk has changed its general director and head coach. Rostislav Vergun, who has led the Minsk side since 2019, has already found a new job - at Uralmash. His place is taken by ex-assistant Alexey Sukhovetsky, as an interim head coach.

There were some changes in the roster as well. Center Aleksandar Zecevic, who transferred from Nizhny, has settled into the team and looks very decent (9.1 points, 4.6 rebounds). Another big man, well known to fans graduate of our club Artem Zabelin, joined Minsk recently and has not yet had time to play for the team. And the leaders remain the same - Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson averages 19 points, Grigory Motovilov adds 10 more.

“Minsk is still looking for its first win, the team has more and more motivation, especially taking into account the coaching change,” notes CSKA head coach Emil Rajkovic. “They will be also playing on the big arena and will try hard to please the fans on the holidays. We are not underestimating the opponents and we will do our best to get back on the winning track.”

Past matchups

Wins/losses: 27-0

Game of 2023-24 VTB United League Regular Season:

25-Oct-2023. CSKA - Minsk: 112-84 (+28)

Brief dossier

Minsk, Belarus

Founded: 2006
Colors: blue, white
Home court: Minsk-Arena (15,000), Falcon Club (2,300)
Interim CEO: Petr Ivashkov
Interim head coach: Alexey Sukhovetsky
Website: minskbasket.by
Trophy case: 15-time Belarusian champion (2009-23), 14-time Belarusian Cup winner (2010-23)