Krasnodar will host Game of the Week between Lokomotiv Kuban and Zenit on Sunday.
Rivalry history
These top teams are exchanging road wins every time. On October 6, Loko sealed the deal in St. Petersburg (83:76), Zenit took the revenge in Krasnodar (77:71).
On January 11, Loko beat Zenit in St. Petersburg (117:98). This loss is Zenit’s worst in 2024/25 season.
Teams fought for 3rd place in the Playoffs 2024. The St. Petersburg team took the series 3:1.
Overall, the teams have 35 head-to-head games, Zenit gets the lead in the rivalry history – 18-17. Last regular season finished with 2-2. Loko got 2 wins at first stage, while the St. Petersburg team defeated Krasnodar team in February and April.
Intrigue
CSKA (29-5), Zenit (29-5) and UNICS (28-7) are fighting for 1st place in the standings, Loko (26-8) is behind. The Krasnodar team looks great against Top 4 teams – 6-2, including 4 wins in a row, but more often against team, which placed lower in the standings. For Andrei Vedishchev team another win in the Game of the Week can be the last chance to get back into battle for the lead in the standings.
After January loss, Zenit got 10 wins in a row, the team is in good shape and let CSKA to lead only due to point differential. The St. Petersburg team needs this win.
Rematch
Lokomotiv-Kuban 117 points at CSC Arena were a repeat of the second best performance of the season. Zenit head coach Xavier Pascual was critical of the team’s play after 19-point loss in front of his own fans.
“I’ve been here for more than 4 years and there hasn’t been a moment when I’ve said something worse than I’m going to say now. I want to apologize to all the fans for the way we played tonight. There was no concentration, no fighting spirit today… We gave up at some point and failed the game.”
The team responded with 10-game winning streak, and will surely come out with extra motivation in Krasnodar.
Records
Xavier Moon 32 points in the January game against Loko is the season-high for Zenit player in the VTB League. A lot has changed since then. Moon is out for the rest of the season but the team has added Alexey Shved and Okaro White. In their previous clash with Samara, the St. Petersburg team won by 58 points. It was the biggest win for the team in VTB League history.
Georgy Zhbanov made all 8 field-goals versus the Volga team, scored 20 points and set career-high in three-pointers made (4).
Rhythm
Lokomotiv Kuban lost to Uralmash in the first game after the February break, and then had to play the best to avoid a similar fate in Krasnoyarsk. The Krasnodar team was trailing by 21, but transformed in the second half and got back. Head coach Andrei Vedischev stated that the team fell out of rhythm.
Perhaps the tough games will help Lokomotiv to be ready for top competition: Zenit defeated Astana and Samara, who are at the bottom of the standings, by a combined 81 points.
Return
Loko returns to Krasnodar after a 5-game road trip (4-1). The last time the team played at home was on February 1 versus Avtodor.
Numbers
Considering last season, the away team has been the winner of the last 4 games.
Lokomotiv Kuban leads the season in rebounds (38.6), steals (9.7) and blocks (4.9) per game.
Zenit has less turnovers (11.2 per game) in the League.
