VTB Youth League Round 5 (Regular Season): CSKA-Junior keeps a leadership position

It's still too early stage of the Regular Season in VTB-Youth League, but even now we can clearly see the difference between stronger teams and outsiders. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked CSKA-Junior as it allowed them to take a leadership position. CSKA-Junior smashed 6th ranked Minsk in Moscow 97-63. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Minsk. CSKA-Junior dominated down low during the game scoring 56 of its points in the paint compared to Minsk's 24 and made 17-of-17 free shots (100 percent !!!) during the game. CSKA-Junior forced 23 Minsk turnovers. The best player for the winners was forward Nikita Mikheev (202-2009) who scored 19 points and 7 rebounds. Guard Nikita Shedogub (185-2008) chipped in 17 points. Belarusian Egor Batvenkov (193-2007) produced 15 points and 4 assists for the guests. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Undefeated CSKA-Junior (5-0) have an impressive series of five victories in a row. As mentioned above they are at the top of the standings, which they share with Zenit-2 and MBA-2. Minsk at the other side keeps the sixth place with two games lost. They share the position with N.Novgorod-2 and Parma-2. Minsk will play next round against strong MBA-2 trying to get back on the winning streak. CSKA-Junior will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Khimki-2 at home.
Undefeated Lokomotiv-2 (4-1) recorded its first loss in Perm. Visitors were defeated by eighth ranked Parma-2 (3-2) 77-66. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Lokomotiv-2. Forward Grigoriy Golovchenko (205-2007, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) orchestrated the victory by scoring 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Alexey Zernov contributed with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Roman Vorsulev (193-2009) answered with 22 points and 5 rebounds for Lokomotiv-2. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Parma-2 moved-up to sixth place, which they share with N.Novgorod-2 and Minsk. Lokomotiv-2 at the other side keeps the fourth position with one game lost. They share it with Khimki-2. Parma-2 will play against higher ranked Zenit-2 (#3) in Saint Petersburg in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Lokomotiv-2 will play on the road against Uralmash-2 in Yekaterinburg and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Khimki-2 (4-1) against leader MBA-2 (5-0) on Friday night. Visiting Khimki-2 was crushed by MBA-2 in Moscow 96-68. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Khimki-2. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Kirill Khanin stepped up and scored 22 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Kirill Kashtanov responded with 13 points and 4 assists. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. The victory was the fifth consecutive win for MBA-2. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with Zenit-2 and CSKA-Junior. Loser Khimki-2 dropped to the fourth place with one game lost. They share the position with Lokomotiv-2. MBA-2 will meet at home Minsk (#6) in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Khimki-2 will play against the league's leader CSKA-Junior in Moscow and hope to secure a win.

Other games of round 5 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Avtodor-2 was defeated by N.Novgorod-2 in Nizhny Novgorod 75-60. Winless UNICS-2 was smashed by Samara-2 at home 71-101. Dinamo-2 was destroyed by Dynamo Ufa on the opponent's court 73-43. ChBK-2 outscored Enisey-2 in a home game 92-38.
The best stats of 5th round was 14 points and 8 assists by Ivan Kalugin of MBA-2.



Parma-2 - Lokomotiv-2 77-66:
Undefeated Lokomotiv-2 (4-1) recorded its first loss in Perm. Visitors were defeated by eighth ranked Parma-2 (3-2) 77-66. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Lokomotiv-2. Parma-2 shot 32 for 43 from the free-throw line, while Lokomotiv-2 only scored eleven points from the stripe. They outrebounded Lokomotiv-2 42-29 including a 33-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. Lokomotiv-2 was plagued by 29 personal fouls down the stretch. Forward Grigoriy Golovchenko (205-2007, agency: Stanislav Ryzhov) orchestrated the victory by scoring 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Alexey Zernov (-2008) contributed with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Roman Vorsulev (193-2009) answered with 22 points and 5 rebounds and point guard Andrey Marinchev (188-2008) added 15 points in the effort for Lokomotiv-2. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Parma-2 moved-up to sixth place, which they share with N.Novgorod-2 and Minsk. Lokomotiv-2 at the other side keeps the fourth position with one game lost. They share it with Khimki-2. Parma-2 will play against higher ranked Zenit-2 (#3) in Saint Petersburg in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Lokomotiv-2 will play on the road against Uralmash-2 in Yekaterinburg and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Parma-2: G.Grigoriy 12+5reb+4ast, S.Suetin 10, A.Zernov 9+7reb+5ast, S.Nikita 9+7reb+1ast, L.Kolyshkin 8+1reb, A.Shaykhiev 8+4reb+1ast
Lokomotiv-2: V.Roman 22+5reb+3ast, M.Andrey 15+1reb+2ast, K.Matvey 7+3reb+1ast, K.Ignat 7+1reb, U.Ilya 5+2reb+1ast, K.Dmitriy 3+5reb

N.Novgorod-2 - Avtodor-2 75-60:
There was no surprise in Nizhny Novgorod where 9th ranked Avtodor-2 (1-4) was defeated by seventh ranked N.Novgorod-2 (3-2) 75-60 on Friday. N.Novgorod-2 outrebounded Avtodor-2 44-33 including 30 on the defensive glass. Egor Suprun (185-2009) stepped up and scored 28 points, 5 assists and 4 steals for the winners and Nikita Khiakli chipped in 11 points and 9 rebounds. Guard Alexandr Shenderov (190-2007) responded with 18 points and 5 rebounds and point guard Arseniy Nikulin (195-2007) scored 6 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. The victory was the third consecutive win for N.Novgorod-2. They moved-up to sixth place, which they share with Parma-2 and Minsk. Avtodor-2 lost their third game in a row. They dropped to the eleventh position with four games lost. They share it with 3 other teams. N.Novgorod-2 will meet at home Samara-2 (#13) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Avtodor-2 will play against UNICS-2 in Kazan and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
N.Novgorod-2: E.Suprun 28+3reb+5ast, N.Khiakli 11+9reb, N.Simaev 10+6reb+1ast, S.Ivanov 7+2reb+4ast, A.Kanaev 7+2reb, A.Byshev 5+6reb
Avtodor-2: S.Alexandr 18+5reb+1ast, E.Gordeev 12+2reb+1ast, T.Arseniy 10+6reb+2ast, P.Yaroslav 7+2reb, N.Arseniy 6+5reb+8ast, S.Arseniy 3+9reb+4ast

UNICS-2 - Samara-2 71-101:
Everything could happen in Kazan at the game between two tied teams. Both fifteenth ranked Samara-2 and bottom-ranked UNICS-2 had identical 0-4 record. But UNICS-2 was not able to use a home court advantage and was smashed by the opponent from Samara 101-71 on Friday night. Samara-2 made 25-of-32 free shots (78.1 percent) during the game. Samara-2 outrebounded UNICS-2 45-23 including a 20-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. Samara-2 looked well-organized offensively handing out 30 assists. Forward Artyom Bazorov (202-2008) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds for the winners and Mikhail Vlasenko (-2008) chipped in 17 points and 8 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field). Four Samara-2 players scored in double figures. Danil Neygum responded with 15 points and guard Denis Mamedov (185-2007) scored 10 points and 6 assists. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. It was the only win of guest team this round and in all other games host teams recorded victories. Samara-2 (1-4) left bottom position moving up to eleventh place, which they share with 3 other teams. It was UNICS-2's fifth loss in a row. They still close the standings with five games lost. Samara-2 will meet higher ranked N.Novgorod-2 (#7) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. UNICS-2 will play against Avtodor-2 (#12) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Samara-2: A.Bazorov 18+11reb+2ast, M.Vlasenko 17+8reb+3ast, G.Beregnoy 12+1reb, E.Galaguta 12+4reb+1ast, N.Sharkevich 12+5reb+6ast, D.Kogevnikov 7+4reb+3ast
UNICS-2: N.Danil 15+4reb+2ast, U.Nikita 11+1reb+3ast, M.Denis 10+2reb+6ast, Z.Stepan 7+2reb, C.Kirill 6+2reb+2ast, S.Ilya 6+2reb+1ast

Dynamo Ufa - Dinamo-2 73-43:
There was a minor upset when higher ranked Dinamo-2 (1-4) was rolled over on the road by fourteenth ranked Dynamo Ufa (1-4) 73-43 on Friday. Dynamo Ufa dominated down low during the game scoring 44 of its points in the paint compared to Dinamo-2's 18. Dynamo Ufa forced 29 Dinamo-2 turnovers and outrebounded them 42-16 including a 18-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. Center Deniel Sanamyan (204-2007) stepped up and scored 10 points and 9 rebounds for the winners and guard Dgamil Khabibullin (185-2007) chipped in 13 points. Vsevolod Timofeev responded with 10 points and forward Arseniy Yalov (201-2007) scored 6 points. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Dynamo Ufa left bottom position moving up to eleventh place, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Dinamo-2. Dynamo Ufa will meet at home Enisey-2 (#15) in the next round. Dinamo-2 will play against ChBK-2 (#9) in Chelyabinsk and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Dynamo Ufa: D.Khabibullin 13+3reb+2ast, D.Sanamyan 10+9reb, A.Kanakhin 10+2reb+2ast, M.Khadeev 8+1reb+5ast, M.Matveev 6+2reb+1ast, M.Khudaygulov 6+5reb+2ast
Dinamo-2: T.Vsevolod 10+3reb+3ast, Z.Egor 9, Y.Arseniy 6+3reb, A.Alexey 5+2reb, T.Ivan 3+2reb, D.Ivan 3+1reb+1ast

CSKA-Junior - Minsk 97-63:
The game had a very big importance for second-ranked CSKA-Junior as it allowed them to take a leadership position. CSKA-Junior smashed 6th ranked Minsk in Moscow 97-63. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Minsk. CSKA-Junior dominated down low during the game scoring 56 of its points in the paint compared to Minsk's 24 and made 17-of-17 free shots (100 percent !!!) during the game. CSKA-Junior forced 23 Minsk turnovers. The best player for the winners was forward Nikita Mikheev (202-2009) who scored 19 points and 7 rebounds. Guard Nikita Shedogub (185-2008) chipped in 17 points. Four CSKA-Junior players scored in double figures. Belarusian Egor Batvenkov (193-2007) produced 15 points and 4 assists and Belarusian point guard Nikita Leoshin (187-2007) added 13 points respectively for the guests. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. CSKA-Junior (5-0) have an impressive series of five victories in a row. As mentioned above they are at the top of the standings, which they share with Zenit-2 and MBA-2. Minsk at the other side keeps the sixth place with two games lost. They share the position with N.Novgorod-2 and Parma-2. Minsk will play next round against strong MBA-2 trying to get back on the winning streak. CSKA-Junior will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Khimki-2 at home.
Top scorers:
CSKA-Junior: N.Mikheev 19+7reb+1ast, N.Shedogub 17+3reb+1ast, R.Tashev 14+1reb+5ast, K.Denis 13+2reb+2ast, A.Semikov 10+1reb, E.Bliznetcov 8+2reb+2ast
Minsk: E.Batvenkov 15+2reb+4ast, N.Leoshin 13+2reb+3ast, O.Salei 8+1ast, A.Zhebrovsky 8+3reb+1ast, S.Artsiom 8+4reb, M.Yagutko 4+7reb

ChBK-2 - Enisey-2 92-38:
Rather predictable result in Chelyabinsk where ninth ranked ChBK-2 (2-3) outscored 13th ranked Enisey-2 (1-5) 92-38 on Friday. ChBK-2 dominated down low during the game scoring 64 of its points in the paint compared to Enisey-2's 24. ChBK-2 forced 32 Enisey-2 turnovers and outrebounded them 48-28 including a 28-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. Center Alexey Nikitin (206-2009) stepped up and scored 10 points and 6 rebounds for the winners and Ivan Severin (-2008) chipped in 11 points and 4 steals. Platon Prokhorenko responded with a double-double by scoring 11 points and 10 rebounds and Alexey Vorobev (190-2007) scored 7 points. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Newly promoted ChBK-2 maintains ninth place with 2-3 record. Loser Enisey-2 dropped to the fifteenth position with five games lost. ChBK-2 will meet at home Dinamo-2 (#14) in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Enisey-2 will play against Dynamo Ufa and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
ChBK-2: I.Severin 11+4reb+3ast, L.Rusanov 10+3reb+2ast, D.Razumnyy 10+1reb+3ast, A.Nikitin 10+6reb+2ast, R.Kotlyar 9+4reb+2ast, B.Kozlov 8+6reb+1ast
Enisey-2: P.Platon 11+10reb, V.Alexey 7+2reb+1ast, N.Roman 6+2reb+1ast, C.Ilya 4+2reb, V.Alexandr 4+2reb+1ast, A.Vognerubov 4

MBA-2 - Khimki-2 96-68:
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Khimki-2 (4-1) against leader MBA-2 (5-0) on Friday night. Visiting Khimki-2 was crushed by MBA-2 in Moscow 96-68. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Khimki-2. It was a key game for the top position in the league. MBA-2 dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Khimki-2's 38. MBA-2 forced 19 Khimki-2 turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. Kirill Khanin (200-2009) stepped up and scored 22 points and 6 rebounds for the winners and guard Ivan Kalugin (183-2007) chipped in 14 points and 8 assists. Four MBA-2 players scored in double figures. point guard Kirill Kashtanov (183-2008) responded with 13 points and 4 assists and Artem Popovich (-2008) scored 16 points. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. The victory was the fifth consecutive win for MBA-2. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with Zenit-2 and CSKA-Junior. Loser Khimki-2 dropped to the fourth place with one game lost. They share the position with Lokomotiv-2. MBA-2 will meet at home Minsk (#6) in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Khimki-2 will play against the league's leader CSKA-Junior in Moscow and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
MBA-2: K.Khanin 22+6reb, I.Kalugin 14+1reb+8ast, M.Vasin 12+2reb+2ast, P.Koshelev 12+5reb+3ast, F.Savin 6+2reb, V.Vorontcov 6+7ast
Khimki-2: P.Artem 16+1reb+1ast, K.Kirill 13+2reb+4ast, T.Maxim 10+3reb+1ast, C.Sergey 9+4reb, G.Egor 8+2reb+3ast, Z.Oleg 5+6reb