Same opponent, new name
PRE-GAME BREAKDOWN
Last summer, the management of the club from Belarus carried out a rebranding and abandoned the familiar name Tsmoki, confining itself to mentioning the name of the capital. The restructuring of the roster turned out to be less significant, and due to the almost complete absence of foreigners (there is only one - the American Zach Smith), they focused on national players’ development.
The Red-Blues have Semen Antonov and Anton Astapkovich back after illness. Young guard Vladimir Karpenko remains at the disposal of CSKA-2.
After the game the main and youth team, the coaching staff and management will be happy to meet with the fans, answer questions and sign autographs.
WORD TO THE COACH
Emil Rajkovic, CSKA head coach:
Minsk is a young and energetic team. Their coach sets a lot of different tasks for the players trying to polish the game and maximize the team’s production. We need to play good defense, match their energy and speed and make another step in the process of building the team.
“RELATIVITY” CONNECTIONS
In part of last season, Andrei Desyatnikov and Kirill Sitnik defended the colors of Dynamo Vladivostok together.
PAST MATCHUPS
Wins/losses: 24-0
Game of 2021-22 VTB United League Regular Season:
23-Sep-2021. Tsmoki Minsk - CSKA: 44-92 (+48)
16-Apr-2022. CSKA - Tsmoki Minsk: 101-54 (+47)
SHORT DOSSIER
Minsk, Belarus
Founded: 2006
Colors: blue, white
Home court: Minsk-Arena (15,000), Falcon Club (2,300)
CEO: Yuri Shakola
Head coach: Rostislav Vergun
Website: minskbasket.by
Trophy case: 14-time Belarusian champion (2009-22), 13-time Belarusian Cup winner (2010-22)
