One opponent, one series

Eternal topic

This question has long been in the category of eternal ones – probably since the time when basketball playoffs came up with the idea of ​​playing the series. What is more advantageous – to get a long break between stages or to fight with an opponent until the end? What is better – to have the opportunity to recover and catch your breath or to maintain the game rhythm and high adrenaline level?

This is exactly the category that everyone who watched the semifinals thinks about. CSKA finished the series with UNICS in four games. Zenit fought with Lokomotiv-Kuban until the last, seventh game, having twice gone on a difficult trip to Krasnodar.

Time for the leaders

Now no one remembers what lineup the team from St. Petersburg started the season with, what problems it overcame and how it introduced newcomers into the game. In fact: Zenit finished the regular season in first place, earned home court advantage, its representatives received two individual awards (Dwayne Bacon - MVP, Xavi Pascual - Coach of the Year), and the blue-white-blues absolutely deserved the right to be in the final.

The team is famous for its variability of tactics and the depth of the bench, while in the decisive games of the season, of course, the leaders shine. The most valuable player of the group stage is even more useful in the battles for elimination. Even though Bacon has some bad games, he produces great statistics - 22.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 23.9 efficiency rating in the playoffs. It is also common to see Trent Frazier as a leader (13.9 points, 49.1% three-pointers, 4.1 assists) as well as Vince Hunter – 10.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks. By the way, Hunter set the VTB League playoff record by blocking 6 shots in the Game 7 against Lokomotiv. It is a little unusual to see Alexey Shved as a “role player”. He does not score so many points (7.6) and does not shoot with the highest percentage, but he creates a lot for his partners, leading the team in assists (4.7), and gets onto the stage into key moments – as he did in aforementioned Game 7. Georgy Zhbanov is also continuing a quality season – he not only fights on defense, but also regularly hits buzzer-beaters. By the way, Zhbanov is the leader among all representatives of the permanent rotation in the three-point percentage – 51.9%.

Krylatskoye weekdays before the final

After the semifinals, the Moscow team got a couple of days off and started working in Krylatskoye on Saturday, May 17. For a long time, the team did not know their future opponent, so they simply honed their own game and looked for options for new combinations of players. This is especially important not only because of the nuances of actions against a specific opponent, but also due to the absence of a key figure in defense. Nikita Kurbanov underwent surgery to fix a broken bone in his right hand, so the team will have to do without a veteran. And then Ivan Ukhov's illness put him out of action for a long period - the guard was discharged from the hospital last week, and he managed to have only three training sessions with the team.

Therefore, for full preparation, the coaches had to involve representatives of the youth team Ivan Zaitsev and Daniil Klyuchenkov.

“We are happy to return to games after a natural break for us," said CSKA head coach Andreas Pistiolis. “We have games ahead of us that we have been working towards all season, against the strongest possible opponent.”

“The final will be tough,” says Casper Ware. “We know what it’s like to play in the final series, and we even fought in it against Zenit. I remember well how we were ahead 3-1, but lost. This shows that there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ lead in the VTB League playoffs. We will go from game to game, we will always look ahead and not allow mood swings during the series. Of course, the absence of Kurbi will have an impact – he is one of our leaders, a defensive player, he is a rock. But there are many other guys on the team who can step up and help us in the final.”

Past matchups

Wins-losses: 39-20 (5-0 in EuroLeague, 18-0 against Triumph Lyubertsy)

Games of the 2024-25 VTB United League season:

13-Oct-2024. CSKA – Zenit: 83-77 (+6)
07-Dec-2024. Zenit - CSKA: 82-78 (-4)
02-Feb-2025. CSKA – Zenit: 66-79 (-13)
30-Mar-2025. Zenit - CSKA: 81-77 (-4)

Brief dossier

Zenit St.Petersburg, Russia

Founded: 2014
Colors: dark-blue, white, light-blue
Homecourt: KSK Arena (7,120)
CEO: Alexander Tserkovny
Head coach: Xavi Pascual
Website: bc-zenit.com
Trophy case: VTB United League Champion (2022), Russian Champion (2022), 5-time VTB United League bronze medalist (2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2024), 5-time Russian Championship bronze medalist (2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2024), Russian Cup Winner (2024)