Uleb
February 09, 2010
Regular Season Game 6 - January 12, 2010 - YUBILEYNI "SPORT" PALACE
GAME PREVIEW
Spartak SPB
vs.
Bizkaia Bilbao B
Local time: 21:30 TV CET: 19:30
Head Coaches
SHERF, ZVI
Spartak St. Petersburg head coach
"We have to have practices if we want to be ready for games. I don't know another way how you can achieve victories. That is why we work hard now, especially in the situation which we have now. We do all our best to be in good shape in the game against Bilbao. The game with Turk Telekom was not easy. We had good minutes and bad minutes but now it's history. Now all our thoughts are about the game with Bilbao. If we speak about tactics for the game, we always know what to do but now we have the same situation as with Turk Telekom. Bilbao has changed the head coach. Now the former assistant works with the team and we don't know what changes he will make for the game. But in the first place, we must concentrate on our team and on the game."
Players
YUDIN, ANTON
Spartak St. Petersburg guard
"We learned a lot of things about our competitor during the preparation for the game. We went through videos of Bilbao games including our game with them in Spain. We try to find weak sides of the team and give something new in our game. Their head coach left the team and now his assistant works as head coach. I don't think he will break the system and in my opinion their game won't change much. But obviously they can have an emotional inspiration as it always happens after a coach change. We will do all our best for victory though it's very hard to give a prediction for the result now."
Spartak St. Petersburg hopes to clinch a Last 16 spot in Group E when it hosts Bizkaia Bilbao Basket on Tuesday. Spartak is second in Group E and will make it to the Last 16 with a win over Bilbao or if Turk Telekom loses against Spirou Basket in the week’s other Group E clash. Bilbao has clinched first place in this group, so it may use a different rotation in this game, trying to give newcomer Axel Hervelle plenty of playing time to get use to its new teammates. Coach Txus Vidorreta stepped down on Sunday, so Rafa Pueyo will be his team's boss in St. Petersburg. Hervelle is set to see most minutes inside along with last season's All-Eurocup first team selection Marko Banic, with three-point threat Damir Markota and blue-collar center Salva Guardia coming off the bench. Hervelle has an interesting test against Yahor Meshcharakou while Banic and Guardia are ready to fight against Milovan Rakovic and Goran Suton. The most interesting matchup takes place at small forward, where James White hopes to use his athleticism and quickness against Alex Mumbru, who is much more experienced than him. Spartak needs to get its shooters involved to win the game, as Zakhar Pashutin, Anton Yudin, Evgeniy Koleshnikov and Vasiliy Zavourev can pull the trigger from downtown at any time. Bilbao, however, has two top defensive players in Paco Vazquez and Chris Warren, as well as offering its own scoring firepower with Markota, Mumbru, Ronnie Seibutis and Janis Blums. Robert Conley can be a X-factor for Bilbao due to his intensity and penetration skills. Bilbao must stop playmaker Levance Fields, who leads his team's offense. Javi Rodriguez and Javi Salgado are ready to dominate the game rhythm and get him into foul trouble. Spartak must get its shooters involved and expect a good game from Rakovic if it wants to make it to the next round. Bilbao must be its usual self in offense, with no less than 10 players able to score at any time. Expect an interesting showdown in St. Petersburg this Tuesday.

REFEREES: Luigi Lamonica, Sergey Zashchuk, Panagiotis Anastopoulos
Monday, January 11, 2010
Eurocupbasketball.com
Stats Comparisions: Teams and players
Team Aver.     Team Leaders Head-to-Head Team Leaders     Team Aver.
73.6 Pts. WHITE, JAMES 17.0 Pts. 16.2 BANIC, MARKO Pts. 84.2
46.96 % 2FG% ZOZULIN, ALEKSEY 62.50 % 2FG% 88.24 % MARKOTA, DAMIR 2FG% 62.64 %
29.03 % 3FG% KOLESNIKOV, EVGENY 50.00 % 3FG% 77.78 % VAZQUEZ, PACO 3FG% 39.81 %
30.8 Rebounds RAKOVIC, MILOVAN 6.6 Rebounds 5.0 MARKOTA, DAMIR Rebounds 30.6
13.6 Assist. FIELDS, LEVANCE 5.0 Assist. 3.0 BLUMS, JANIS Assist. 16.0
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