Zenit and UNICS will open the series of games between the top clubs of the VTB United League 2025/26 season.
Place: Russia, Saint Petersburg, CSC Arena
Time: 4 October 2025, 14:00
Broadcast: Match TV, VK Video, VTB League website
Last season
The first game between the top teams of the 2025/26 season will be in St. Petersburg. Zenit and UNICS finished 1st and 3rd in the regular season and did not play in Playoffs, but ended up close to each other in the final standings, taking silver and bronze. Both clubs were dissatisfied with results and made radical changes.
Head-to-head games in the previous season ended in a draw – 2-2. The teams won one home and one road game each. Zenit started and finished with wins. The second came during a record 25-game winning streak.
During the regular season, both teams stood out for defensive efficiency. UNICS allowed their opponents to score the less points (3191), while Zenit ranked third (3199).
The clubs have played 45 times in total, with Kazan team leading – 24-21.
Preparation
Ahead of the new season, Zenit actively tested its strength against foreign opponents. First, it played Turkish clubs, beating Mersin (84:82) and Besiktas (65:62), and losing to Turk Telekom (79:82). Then faced Maccabi Tel Aviv in Belgrade (77:102).
The team also participated in the VTB United League SuperCup, making 19-point comeback against Dubai (107:103) and losing to CSKA in the final (79:96).
UNICS limited itself against Russian rivals, including winning the 30th Anniversary Ural-Great Cup in Perm – 87:56 against BET ITY PARMA in the final.
The Kazan and St. Petersburg teams played in the decisive game of the Kondrashin and Belov Cup on September 9. Zenit got win 89:71. Georgii Zhbanov was the star and MVP of the tournament, scoring 25 points (8 of 10 field-goals made, 4 of 4 three-pointers).
Changes
Zhbanov earned a new three-year contract and became one of the few leading players from both clubs remaining from last year’s lineups. Zenit retained Trent Frazier and re-signed Alex Poythress. Jalen Reynolds and captain Dmitry Kulagin will continue to play for UNICS.
Overall, the teams have undergone radical changes, signing 7 new players each. The rivals lost their leaders in scoring (Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Moon, Marcos Knight and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell), rebounding (Vince Hunter and Ismael Bako) and assists (Alexey Shved, Moon and Knight) from last season.
Coaches
Despite the changes in the roster, UNICS ensured continuity on the coaching staff by extending its cooperation with Velimir Perasovic for 2 seasons.
Zenit was unable to keep the best coach of the previous season team. Xavier Pascual was replaced by Aleksandar Sekulic. The 47-year-old Slovenian specialist returned to Russia a year after leaving Lokomotiv Kuban and began his third season in the League.
Zenit made Sekulic’s job easier by signing players he was familiar with, among others. Centre Andrey Martiuk, forward Dmitrii Uzinskiy and Vladislav Emchenko moved to St. Petersburg from Krasnodar.
New faces
One of the most high-profile transfers of the summer was the arrival of forward Andre Roberson at Zenit. The 33-year-old player spent 7 seasons in the NBA, mainly playing for Oklahoma City Thunder. The defensive specialist has played 307 games there. His career as a member of the 2016/17 NBA All-Defensive Second Team was interrupted by injuries.
During his time in the league, Roberson was a teammate of Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Russell Westbrook.
The forward joined Zenit not in optimal shape due to a muscle injury, but played in the SuperCup and helped the team to defeat Dubai. The medical staff is gradually getting him ready for the season and is not sure whether the player will participate in the game against Kazan.
If Roberson will play, he will be able to play against his former teammate from last season Paris Lee. The American guard made a great debut in the VTB League against BETCITY PARMA, scoring 14 points (3 of 8 three-pointers made) and 8 assists. Lee speaks highly of the atmosphere of equality in the team and the coach’s tough but fair approach, calling him “a great guy.” The guard was the Euroleague leader in steals in the 2023/24 season (1.7) and will be able to replace the departed Marcos Knight in this regard.
Another newcomer Dyshawn Pierre arrived as Euroleague and Turkish league champion. The forward spent 5 years at Fenerbahce and recently began to lose playing time, missing a month with a calf injury last autumn, but participated in the Playoff games and played 3 minutes in the final against Monaco.
Pierre former clubs is Italy Dinamo Sassari, where he crossed paths with Zenit player Levy Randolph. The American was not selected in the 2015 NBA draft and has played in the United States, New Zealand, Italy, France, Belgium and Israel. Randolph played in the last Euroleague season, averaging 12 points and 3.8 rebounds for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Old and new leaders
Jalen Reynolds has extended his contract with UNICS until 2026. The center was nominated for Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year in the last season and was fourth in the league in efficiency and sixth in rebounds. Reynolds participated in the All-Star Game.
The club’s new star could be American forward Marcus Bingham, winner of last season’s EuroCup with Hapoel. Bingham holds the Israeli league record in rebounds in a single game (27). This is also his career-high in points. The forward managed to repeat this in his very first VTB League game. In tge friendly game against Zenit, Bingham made double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Zenit retained its mbest assistant. Trent Frazier was behind Moon and Shved in average assists, but full season left him as the leader in total assists. Frazier was named MVP of February.
One of the main intrigues of the season will be the return of Nenad Dimitrijevic. The MVP of the Playoffs 2023 and the 2024 regular season joined Zenit after an unsuccessful season with Olimpia Milano. UNICS tried to sign the player in the spring before the Playoffs, but was unable to reach an agreement with the Italian team. In the summer, the St. Petersburg team managed to sign the guard. Dimitrijevic received less than 17 minutes of playing time in 27 Euroleague games, for which he left Russia. The game against his former team will be the first serious test for the guard.
