Lokomotiv Kuban — CSKA, 22 February 2026

Developing a habit

The presence of the WINLINE Basket Cup on the calendar and CSKA's group matchup with Lokomotiv make joint visits frequent. Fortunately, this season, the Muscovites have been handling the Railwaymen like a charm, albeit with great difficulty and a bit of luck. A habit of winning is a good thing, and it could come in handy during the playoffs. Krasnodar is currently fourth in the standings, and if the Muscovites maintain their lead, the teams have a chance to meet again in the semifinals. And the travels south will continue.

This time, the red-and-blues departed for the shores of the Kuban River on a regular Aeroflot flight, which required everyone to wake up quite early. That evening, the team held a full practice on the court of the Krasnodar Basket Hall.

“Even though Lokomotiv is currently in a new situation, the teams have faced each other several times and are very familiar,” notes CSKA head coach Andreas Pistiolis. “Krasnodar is a tough court for opponents, and our games are always exciting. I expect us to play good basketball and take the win.”

New coach, new leader

The teams' previous meeting took place on Catholic Christmas Day as part of the WINLINE Basket Cup, when Anton Yudin was still the head coach of the home team. On Orthodox Christmas Day, the club's management announced a change of a coach – since then, Serb Tomislav Tomovic has been leading the team. Under the new coach, Lokomotiv has won six of nine games in the VTB League, including defeating Zenit and challenging UNICS.

The increasingly enthusiastic Jeremiah Martin has recently established himself as the offensive leader for the opposition (14.9 points, 3.7 assists, 1.4 steals). The tournament's leader in assists, Patrick Miller, is now second (14.1 points, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals), followed by Vince Hunter (11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals) and Anton Kvitkovskikh (10.0 points, 4.4 rebounds).

Past matchups

Win-loss ratio: 75-19,
in Moscow: 40-7, in Rostov: 9-1, in Krasnodar: 25-10, on the neutral court (Berlin): 1-0.

Game 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)

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)