On March 17, Zenit beat Paris Nizhny Novgorod and won the Russian Cup for the first time in its history. The defender of the Saint Petersburg team, Trent Fraser, was recognized as MVP of the Final Four, and the blue and white center Vince Hunter was in the symbolic five. “Championship” prepared material on the results of the XXIII National Cup.
Sergey Karasev (left) and Mikhail Belenitsky (right)
Photo: BC Zenit
In addition to Zenit and NN, the owners of F4, Yekaterinburg Uralmash, as well as the capital’s MBA club were fighting for the title. The last two teams lost in the semifinals and competed against each other for bronze. During the first half the game was even with a slight advantage for the Yekaterinburg team. After a long break, Uralmash maintained the initiative and midway through the third period achieved a double-digit lead for the first time. In the middle of the last quarter the difference reached 17 points, after which it became clear that Uralmash would not give up theirs. In the end, 82:70 in favor of Rostislav Vergun’s team.
The main match of the night featured a remake of last year’s final. A year ago, Zenit hosted the Final Four in St. Petersburg, but lost to Nizhny Novgorod in the final in front of their fans. Compared to last season, there were changes not only in the composition of the teams, but also in the situation of the VTB United League. If Zenit remained one of the favorites in the championship, for some reason this season did not go well for Zoran Lukic’s team.
The final of the Russian Cup at DIVS did not turn out to be the most productive and brilliant: the stakes were too high for there to be room for error. The St. Petersburg team started the match with a partial score of 14:2, and deja vu immediately arose, as if the image of the semifinal with Uralmash was repeated, when Zenit started the match with a score of 27:7. The Nizhny Novgorod team managed to get a little closer to the rival and at the big break they lost 11 points. Frankly, both teams did not shoot well: the percentage of hits was less than 30, but Zenit took the lead thanks to a multiple advantage in the number of free throws (12/14 versus 3/5 after the first half).
In the third quarter, NN tried to rectify the situation and even won. In the last quarter, Lukic’s team reduced the difference to five points, but they could not get more. 64:55 – and Zenit, on the third attempt, wins its first Russian Cup. The Petersburgers became the thirteenth winner of the trophy. CSKA was the team that won the national cup the most times (4), while Nizhny Novgorod, in turn, became the team with the most defeats in the final (4).
Zenit wanted revenge on NN, but it certainly didn’t come out the easiest way. This opinion was shared by forward Georgy Zhbanov in an exclusive comment to the Championship after the final.
Georgy Zhbanov
BC Zenit forward
“It’s nice to win the official trophy at Zenit.” The tournament dragged on for a long time, there was tension around the Russian Cup, we wanted to take revenge for our defeat in the Russian Cup final last season. The emotions from the victory are not overwhelming, as if he expected such a result. But we can’t say for sure that the game was easy. Playing against Nizhny is always difficult, Zoran Lukic is a very intelligent coach. But today he made a mistake: he didn’t insure me and that’s why he gave us the gold. Why wasn’t the game the most productive? Zenit and Nizhny are the most defensive teams. When he was in NN, Lukich always demanded a tough and aggressive defense. Well, Zenit is the one that concedes the fewest goals in the VTB United League. Today was very physical basketball, we spent a lot of energy moving the ball, combinations and we had minimal resources left to shoot. So the percentage has gotten a little worse, but not for me. What is the X factor of this match? My three three-point shots.”
“This title will give confidence to the Russians before the United League playoffs. Today we showed that our Russian guys are no worse than others. I hope this will help us in the playoffs and we will win the championship,” concluded Georgy Zhbanov.
Zenit defender Trent Fraser became the MVP of the Final Four. It should be noted that he won this award for the second time in a row. He was also named MVP last year even though his team lost in the finals. This year there were no doubts: 15 points in the semi-finals against Uralmash and 18 in the final speak for themselves.
The symbolic five of the “Final Four” included:
Casey Shepherd (Paris Nizhny Novgorod); Andrey Vorontsevich (Paris Nizhny Novgorod); Vince Hunter (Zenit); Octavius Ellis (Uralmash); Evgeny Voronov (MBA).
For Zenit, this title was already the second in its anniversary season. Before the start of the regular season, Javier Pascual’s team won the VTB United League Super Cup. And this leaves Kondrashin and Belov’s home preseason tournament victory out of the equation.
The most important part of the season is ahead: the fight for the United League championship. And Zenit has everything to seriously fight for the title this season. This is how it seemed before the start of the championship: on paper, the St. Petersburg team was considered the main favorite of the tournament, but the disorganized start to the season put this into doubt. Now Zenit is close to its peak and a victory in the Russian Cup should further inspire the club from the banks of the Neva. This is especially true for the Russian players who, without EuroLeague level players, have proven to themselves, the fans and the coach that they are prepared to continue proving themselves throughout the season. The Russian Cup final is an indicator that the most interesting thing is just beginning.
