CSKA has taken the lead in the United Basketball League.

The regular season of the Unified League has completed a quarter of its distance. Twelve participating clubs, having played the first round and even starting the second, have gone on a nearly two-week break. This break is scheduled – it’s the so-called "national teams window," during which, despite international sanctions, there is still room for our national team's games (on November 22-24 in Moscow, they will participate in the friendly tournament "Friendship Cup Russia – Africa"). It's the perfect time for interim conclusions based on the current situation in the standings.

So, the first conclusion: CSKA is once again in the lead. The reigning league champion, having reclaimed their title after two unsuccessful seasons (by army standards, of course), has rightfully taken the top spot and seems unwilling to relinquish it. Yes, CSKA did suffer some point losses in the first round – they experienced a shocking defeat in Nizhny Novgorod at the beginning of October. However, they won their key matches against direct competitors, "Zenit," UNICS, and "Lokomotiv-Kuban," under the leadership of Andreas Pistiolis. The victories over "Loko," which had gone nine matches without a loss, and last season's finalist UNICS on their home court were particularly noteworthy.

"At the moment, CSKA looks very confident," stated Ilona Korstin, General Director of the Unified League, after a recent game in Kazan. "There is a sense of balance, achieved because the Moscow team retained their championship roster under Pistiolis' guidance. Plus, they added star Serbian Aleksa Avramovic, who is not shy about taking the initiative and constantly energizes the team."

Avramovic has undoubtedly strengthened CSKA. This is confirmed by the award he received as the league's best player for November. However, the rivals of the army club also have impressive players acquired during the offseason. For instance, "Zenit" clearly made a good choice with Dwayne Bacon (averaging 16.8 points per game – the best current statistic in the championship) and Xavier Moon (13.6 points and 4.8 assists). The leaders of "Loko" have become Patrick Miller (14.5 points) and Antonius Cleveland (12.2). Meanwhile, UNICS successfully lured Devon Akun-Purcell (15.2) from Krasnodar and picked up Tony Taylor (11.1 points and 5.0 assists) from the Turkish league.

This leads to the second conclusion: the other clubs in the "Big Four" have not weakened at all. They have always had ambitions. UNICS and "Zenit," to remind you, have already worn the champion's crown in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons. "Lokomotiv-Kuban" reached the finals in 2022 – the president and, starting this season, the head coach of the team, Andrei Vedischev, will not rest until he finally achieves his goal.

The St. Petersburg team (13 wins – 2 losses), Krasnodar (12-3), and Kazan (11-4) are positioned in the standings right after CSKA. Thus, the main clashes within the top four teams are still ahead. In these showdowns, there is hardly any room for others. It is always possible to harm by outplaying in a specific match (which "Nizhny Novgorod" has already done against CSKA and "Parma" against "Lokomotiv-Kuban" this season). However, competing with the giants over the long haul of the regular season will be extremely challenging for teams from the second tier. Resources and capabilities simply do not allow it.

However, the third conclusion is that the intrigue in the battle for the remaining playoff spots is expected to be intense. Currently, there is a "peloton" of seven teams in the league, to use cycling terminology. "Nizhny Novgorod," Yekaterinburg's "Uralmash," Saratov's "Avtodor," "Parma," Samara, Krasnoyarsk's "Yenisey," and even the capital's MBA-MAI, which is currently in second-to-last place with a two-win deficit – all are preparing for their finishing sprint. Predicting the final outcome for each participant in this seven is utterly impossible.

As for the league's outsider, I’m afraid it’s already quite clear. It is Kazakhstan's "Astana," the only remaining foreign club in the Unified League. Fifteen losses in 15 matches… Only a miracle can save this season for "Astana."

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