Playoffs or Play-In?

Avtodor continues to fight for a spot in the VTB United League playoffs, currently sitting in 8th place with a record of 15 wins and 22 losses. Just above them are Parma and Pari NN in 6th and 7th place respectively, each with 16 wins, meaning the playoff race is wide open.

In their last five games, Milenko Bogicevic’s team has secured two wins—against MBA-MAI (85:95) and Samara (74:90)—but fell to Parma (79:73), CSKA (69:87) and Zenit (91:68).

With only a few games remaining in the regular season, Avtodor faces a tough stretch, including matches against UNICS, Lokomotiv-Kuban, and Pari NN. To keep their direct playoff hopes alive, every win will count.

A Battle in the Paint?

In the opening minutes of the Avtodor vs. Zenit game, Artem Klimenko (214 cm) delivered a powerful dunk, earning the top spot in the VTB League’s Top 10 plays of the week. Fans will be watching closely to see if he can repeat something similar against Andrey Desyatnikov.

Supporting Klimenko off the bench is Turkish centre Kerem Kanter, who is averaging 12.7 points per game this season. He made a notable impact in the game against Samara, recording 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 32 efficiency points, which earned him a spot in the VTB League’s Team of the Week (February 28 – March 2).

By the Way

Daniel Utomi is just 14 points away from reaching 500 points for Astana this season—a milestone he could hit in this game.

Head-to-Head History

The teams have faced off 26 times in the VTB United League, with Avtodor winning 18 and Astana claiming 8 victories. The last time Astana defeated Avtodor was on December 13, 2022 with a narrow 70:69 win.

Comment from Acting Head Coach Gleb Plotnikov:

«We’re up against a well-coached and disciplined team. For us, it will be important not to lose the rebounding battle, minimise turnovers, make quick and smart decisions, and execute a structured offence. I invite all fans to come support us at the Velotrack!»

Match Details:
Date & Time: March 21, 20:00
Venue: Saryarka Velotrack, Astana
Broadcast: Available on the club website

The first quarter wasn’t particularly high-scoring, but it was full of back-and-forth action and momentum swings. Astana opened with a solid 5-0 run, but Crawford and Petenev quickly responded for Avtodor, evening things up. Both teams exchanged attacks, with Astana briefly leading 14:11, before the visitors took control and ended the quarter up by 5.

The second quarter proved to be the most difficult for Gleb Plotnikov’s team. Despite efforts to maintain pace—and even a three-pointer from Rustam Murzagaliev giving a glimmer of hope—the 14:1 run by Avtodor, led by Petenev and Manning, began to tip the scales. By halftime, Avtodor had built a comfortable +19 lead.

Unfortunately, the start of the third quarter didn’t bring much change. Turnovers piled up for Astana, and Avtodor punished every mistake, dominating the stretch 4:16. There was a brief spark toward the end of the period when T.J. Starks became more aggressive on drives, but the lead had already grown to +30.

Just when the outcome seemed clear, Astana began to find some rhythm in the fourth quarter. Vadim Shcherbak, Danila Pokhodyaev (twice), and Rustam Aitkali hit three-pointers in a late scoring burst. Unfortunately, the comeback came too late to change the outcome.

Final Score:
Astana – Avtodor 56:88 (15:20, 10:24, 15:26, 16:18)

Astana: Rustam Murzagaliev (11 points, 4 assists), Danila Pokhodyaev (9 points, 5 rebounds), T.J. Starks (9 points, 5 assists), Daniel Utomi (8 points).
  
Gleb Plotnikov, Acting Head Coach of Astana:

“A terrible game. Some of our players need to reevaluate who they are and reflect on the meaning of professionalism. The word ‘professional’ doesn’t just mean showing up and playing—it’s about the sacrifices you make every day to improve. When a player is focused on something other than the game during the match, it's hard to motivate him.
The stats speak for themselves—25% from three, 31% from the field, and 14 turnovers that they punished us for. As I told the guys, Avtodor is a very solid team. They were focused and played like a team today. We were not. As for injuries—Sasha Orazbekov has a broken nose, and Grigory Motovilov is still recovering. Unfortunately, we are not playing in a way that brings joy to our fans right now.”