United League champion and winner of the Russian Cup. UNICS and Zenit will fix things in Kazan
Alexander Zoteev March 21, 2024, 10:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Today the meeting of the top 4 teams will take place.
On March 21 in Kazan, as part of the second phase of the VTB United League, the current champion UNICS will host Zenit. Both teams have already guaranteed participation in the playoffs, but are still fighting for an advantageous position in the standings. “Championship” has prepared an announcement of the next meeting.
The history of the confrontation between Unics and Zenit in the United League totals 39 games. There were 21 meetings left with the Kazan team, 18 with the St. Petersburg club. In addition, this season the clubs have a kind of connection thanks to the players: in the summer, two important basketball players, Vince Hunter and Georgy Zhbanov, moved from the reigning champion to Javier Pascual’s team. Dmitry Kulagin continued in the opposite direction. If we take subsequent crosses, then both teams played: Artyom Klimenko (now Zenit); Jalen Reynolds, Artyom Komolov, Ivan Lazarev (now all defend the UNICS colors).
Nenad Dimitrijevic (with ball)
Photo: BC UNICS
In the regular season, Velimir Perasovic’s team constantly remembers that it is the current champion and shows that it has no intention of slowing down. However, the Kazan team still has flaws. In the first stage of the regular season, UNICS suffered six defeats, several of them quite unexpected: against Samara and Runa. In January, the champion suffered two defeats in a row: against Enisey and Parma, who also finished in the top six in the first part of the regular season. However, after this there was a series of seven victories, which allowed the Kazan team to lead the standings. This also happened without the crisis of CSKA, which suffered four defeats in a row from the beginning of February to the beginning of March.
During the first phase, Javier Pascual’s team guaranteed itself a place in the top 6 and automatic access to the playoffs, but did not achieve a single victory in meetings with teams from the Big Four. However, in the second stage everything changed dramatically: Lokomotiv-Kuban and CSKA were defeated, and in addition to them, Parma and Yenisei. The injured players returned to action and, at the same time, Montenegrin center Boyan Dubljevic began to show the good basketball that was expected of him much earlier. Now Zenit seems to be one of the most balanced teams, with practically no weaknesses. Let’s not forget that last weekend the St. Petersburg team won the Russian Cup for the first time in its history. This cannot but positively affect the team, especially the Russian basketball players, who, without Euroleague level players, have proven to themselves, the fans and the coach that they are ready to prove themselves later in the season. .
In this match, as befits a top 4 club match, there will be several confrontations, the first, of course, between the coaches. Velimir Perasovic and Javier Pascual have crossed paths on many occasions and know their teams in depth. We must not forget about the confrontation between basketball players: Dimitrievich – Ertel, Reynolds – Hunter, etc. Whatever the last name, it’s a great showdown.
Zenit is in the second phase without losing and definitely wants to take revenge for the two games lost in the first part of the regular season. UNICS is striving to establish itself on the first line of the Group A standings and not share it with CSKA.
Five proposed starters
UNICS
Nenad Dimitrievich Louis Laberie Marcos Knight Ismael Bako Vladislav Odinokov.
“Zenith”
Thomas Ertel Georgy Zhbanov Kyle Kuric Vince Hunter Adrien Moerman.
