Third away game in a row in Nizhny
New face of traditional rival
"This will be our third away game in a row, and it will be the most difficult one," said CSKA head coach Andreas Pistiolis. "Nizhny will have additional motivation after the defeat in the previous game. This is a good and strong team, they play good basketball at the start of the season, the atmosphere in the gym is always hot, so we can expect an interesting fight."
The Nizhny Novgorod team really jumped into the 2024-25 season well, starting with three victories in a row and the only loss to Uralmash. For many, such successes of the Volga team were a surprise, because the summer changes in the team can be called global. The main one is the departure of head coach Zoran Lukic, who led the black-and-whites for seven years in a row. His replacement is Sergei Kozin, who had previously worked as an assistant. The players who defined the team's play in previous years also left - Ivan Strebkov went to Dynamo Vladivostok, Alexander Gankevich stayed with CSKA after being loaned out at the end of last season. But another Army graduate appeared in Nizhny - Alexander Khomenko.
Who was especially good at the start of the current regular season? Zach Nutall averaged 17.0 points with 47.4% three-point shooting, Aubrey Dawkins had 12.5 points, Nemanja Djurisic had 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds, Dmitry Khvostov - 9.0 points with 61.5% three-point shooting, 3.5 assists.
Remembering the magic
The team stopped in Moscow for just one day. On Thursday afternoon, the team returned from the Eastern tour, spent the evening with their families, and gathered again in the morning - in Krylatskoye. The red-blues tried out the renovated parquet of their training gym - and went to Sheremetyevo, from where they flew to Nizhny.
A lot of time has passed since the previous meeting with the Nizhny Novgorod team - more than eight months. It was in January, and since then the red-blues have experienced so much… There was the failed signing of Barton, the victory over Efes in Turkey, the unsuccessful second round of the championship, which ended with a change of the coach. And, of course, the celebration in honor of the return of the title to Moscow.
And yet, we will remember the January game for a long time. Then, five seconds before the buzzer, CSKA was down by 5 points, but managed to win. After a quick drive by Trimble, there was just enough time left for Ware to intercept a pass by Baburin from the baseline and send home a three-pointer right at the buzzer. The red-blues had no right to lose in overtime, and Casper later received the VTB League award for the Performance of the Year.
The incredible victory made people talk about the supernatural. The former head coach of the Muscovites Emil Rajkovic recalled that basketball is a magical game. And the former head coach of the Nizhny Novgorod team Zoran Lukic said that his team had a quality gift for CSKA for the New Year.
Past matchups
Win-loss record: 45-4
2023-24 VTB League regular season games:
26-Nov-2023. Pari NN – CSKA: 72-74 (+2)
24-Jan-2024. CSKA – Pari NN: 104-96 ОТ (+8)
Brief dossier
BC Pari Nizhny Novgorod
Founded: 2000
Colors: white, black
Homecourt: Labor Unions Palace of Sports (5,000)
President: Sergey Panov
Head coach: Sergei Kozin
Website: www.nn-basket.ru
Accomplishments: Russian Cup winner (2023), VTB United League runner-ups (2014), Russian Championship runner-up (2014), Superleague B champion (2010), Russian Cup finalists (2011)
