In the second quarterfinal matches, the first sensation of the playoffs broke out: CSKA unexpectedly lost away to Nizhny Novgorod, while the first and second teams following the results of the regular season - Zenit and Loko - confidently overpowered their rivals. On Thursday, Kazan UNICS may become the third semifinalist if it defeats the playoff debutant - Poland's Zelena Guru. “I would never have thought that after finishing fifth in the regular season and showing the maximum possible result in recent years, we would meet CSKA in the quarterfinals,” said Sergei Panov, general pinup manager of Nizhny Novgorod, before the start of the series. However, as it turned out, the status of the underdog only plays into the hands of Zoran Lukic's team. In the debut match of the series, Nizhny Novgorod fought on equal terms with CSKA for a long time. The second game started according to the same scenario. Despite a brisk start in the performance of CSKA, Astapkovich and Toropov did not let the army team run away into the lead. The ending of the first half remained entirely with the Volzhans. As a result, Shepherd's siren hit allowed Nizhny to go for a long break in the leadership role - just like in the first match.