In the opening game of the penultimate round in Superliga, the second-placed Belogorie Belgorod (21-4; 59 points) defeated No.12 Enisey Krasnoyarsk (6-19; 20 points) in straight sets, partially 25-21, 25-23, 25-20.
Belogorie was led today by the new coach, who is projected to lead the team through the playoffs. It is Vladimir Kuzyutkin, the head coach of Russia women’s national team! He is the third expert at the helm of Belogorie this season. Aleksandr Bogomolov started the season but already in September became an assistant to Gheorghe Creţu. The Romanian was sacked in December and was replaced by Bogomolov.
This match was not important to Belogorie so Kuzyutkin decided to give a rest to several starters: the German Georg Grozer (made his debut after being traded from Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, a week ago, by scoring 18 points vs. Ural Ufa) and Dmitriy Muserskiy played only the first set, while Sergey Grankin did not play at all.
Konstantin Bakun was the best scorer in Belogorie with 12 points. The Frenchman Antonin Rouzier topped Enisey with 10 points. Aleksey Spiridonov was not signed up for the match. The defeat will complicate the situation for Enisey. They will play the play-out for sure, but now their battle for No.11 and a home-court advantage in a duel against Dinamo-LO Leningradskaya oblast, who currently occupy this spot with a 6-18 record and 22 points, will be much harder.
To see complete results, stats, and standings, visit our RUS National Championship 2017/2018 / Male / Seniors page.
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