UNICS will host Lokomotiv Kuban in the WINLINE Game of the Week on Sunday.
Place: Russia, Kazan, Basket Hall
Time: October 19, 2025, 14:30 (Moscow time)
Broadcasts: Match TV, VK Video, VTB League website
Last season
Last week, the finalists of the previous VTB League season faced off in the main game, and now it’s time for the 3rd Place Series. The bronze went to UNICS, which defeated Loko in 4 games (3-1). The regular season ended with a mirror result: Krasnodar team won the season series 3-1 and lost only in the third game.
The teams set a VTB League record by playing in the Playoffs for the 9th time, with the 2025 matchup being their 5th in a row.
The final game between these rivals was extremely competitive and gave fans 2 overtimes at this stage.
Coaches
Before the 3rd Place Series, Velimir Perasovic noted the very same rivals with Loko that had haunted him throughout his four years in Kazan. UNICS head coach extended his contract with the team in the summer and the experience he has gained from these head-to-heads should help him this time around.
The same cannot be said about his opponent. Andrei Vedishchev decided not to continue last year’s experiment with combining roles and handed over the position at the head of the team to Anton Yudin. The 53-year-old specialist led the team for the first time in 2023 (Zenit-2). In the 2024/25 season, he won the SuperLeague silver with CSKA-2 and was named the best coach.
Restructuring
The rivals managed to take a break from each other during the offseason, with UNICS training in Russia and Lokomotiv going to Turkey to test the roster (4-3 against local clubs).
UNICS retained Jalen Reynolds and the Russian core, adding new international players.
Loko went for more radical changes, starting with the head coach and leaving only 3 players from the previous starting lineup. Among the players who averaged more than 15 minutes last season, Patrick Miller and Kirill Temirov are currently continuing to play. Kirill Elatontsev is out with an injury.
Seven new players have arrived in Krasnodar. Among them are last season’s top scorer Jeremiah Martin (from Uralmash), the best rebounder Royce Hamm (from BETCITY PARMA), the best scorer of the 2023 Spanish League Kassius Robertson (from Joventut), and Vince Hunter.
Key players
Individually, the early stages of the season for both clubs have been marked by the brilliant performances of 2 players. Patrick Miller and Marcus Bingham have made the Team of the Week for 2 times straight.
Miller (78) and Bingham (74) are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the League in total points scored. The center is 2nd in rebounds (35) and blocks (5). The guard shares first place with Paris Lee in assists (29).
Miller signed a new contract with Loko this summer and will remain with the team until 2027. In the last League game against MBA-MAI, he carried the team to win (88:85), setting new career-high 33 points and 45 eff. points. He holds the current season records for points (33) and assists (11) in a game.
Bingham is spending his first year in Russia, having won the EuroCup with Hapoel Tel Aviv last season. The center repeated his career high (27 points) in his first official game for UNICS and later set the current League season-high in rebounds – 15.
Reynolds remains another leader for Kazan team. He is second in scoring on the team (15.3), again showing progress in scoring and currently making 4 out of 5 three-point attempts. Recently, the center became the first international player to score 2,500 points in the VTB League.
Reynolds named Vince Hunter as his favorite opponent. Loko rookie said he “loves” playing against UNICS bigman. Hunter started the season in his energetic manner, leads his team in rebounds and promises a heated battle between the bigmen.
Season so far
The teams approached the face-off in different moods. UNICS is alone at the top of the standings and remains the only undefeated team (4-0). It is still far from breaking records, as Kazan team started the 2022/23 season with 8 wins streak, but Perasovic team looks more confident than anyone else in the League and clearly plans to consolidate its leadership, and then think about achievements.
UNICS started the season with two 100+ games, but was unable to maintain the pace. At the same time, the club continues to lead in average scoring (94) and defense, allowing opponents to score only 74 points.
Loko allows opponents only 2 points more (76) and shares second place with CSKA. Otherwise, the situation for the Krasnodar club is not so well. Loko had a best season start in club’s history with 9 wins last season, but this time had to forget about it in the first round after the sensational los to Uralmash at home.
Yudin’s team then won 3 games in a row, but the last game against MBA-MAI (88:85) was decided only in the final seconds and was largely the result of Miller’s efforts. Perasovic will pay special attention to him. After that, Lokomotiv stumbled again in the in-season Cup. PARMA showed another top club its weaknesses in packed UDS Molot, taking the win – 91:84.
The only positive thing of that game for the Krasnodar team was the progress of Kirill Temirov. The 23-year-old forward, who is getting almost 8 minutes more playing time this year and is in the starting lineup, set career-high 21 points, 27 eff. points, and 4 three-point shots.
The game against UNICS will be Loko’s first in the Top 4 competition. Its result will be important not only for the standings, but also show readiness of the rebuilding team with new coach to face elite opponents.
