Quarterfinals. UNICS (2) vs MBA-MAI (7)

Time and place
Game 1. April 26, 18:00 (Moscow time), Kazan, Basket-Hall
Game 2. April 28, 19:00 (Moscow time), Kazan, Basket-Hall
Game 3. May 2, Moscow, Basket Hall Moscow
Game 4. May 4, Moscow, Basket Hall Moscow (*)
Game 5. May 7, 19:00 (Moscow Time), Kazan, Basket Hall (*)

* – if necessary

Regular Season
UNICS: 2nd place (33 wins and 7 losses)
MBA-MAI: 7th place (18 wins and 22 losses)

Rivalry history
UNICS won all four games against MBA-MAI in the recently concluded regular season – 83-66 and 82-71 in Kazan, 90-84 and 89-56 in Moscow. It is worth noting that the Moscow team has never beaten a member of the “Big Four” in the VTB United League – 0-14.

In December, Moscow hosted the most toughest game in the history of the rivalry. MBA-MAI entered the fourth quarter with a 6-point lead, but the Kazan team stepped up the game, winning the decisive stretch 28-16 and securing another win. Dmitry Kulagin was outstanding, scoring 27 points—his best performance of the season so far. This is the all-time bestthe Moscow team has achieved against UNICS to date.

Why could UNICS win?
Historically dominant in its rivalry with MBA-MAI, the Kazan club enters the quarterfinals as the contender. UNICS has the home-court advantage, a deeper roster, and a higher level of skill among its players. The team is physically strong, powerful, and imposing, symbolized by duo of Jalen Reynolds and Marcus Bingham. Jalen is in the running for both MVP and Sixth Man of the Year, while Bingham could be named Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Both are among the most efficient players in the regular season (Reynolds ranks 2nd and Bingham 7th), both are capable of causing problems not only in the paint but also on the perimeter, and both are athletic and a headache for every coach in the League.

Velimir Perasovic, who has led UNICS since 2021, has built a disciplined and well-managed team known for its defense. The ability to keep opponents in their side of the court and increase defensive intensity is especially valuable in the playoffs. And on offense, the Tatarstan team features, in addition to the mentioned duo of big men, proven veterans: the League’s all-time leading scorer Alexey Shved, the dangerous former MBA forward Andrei Lopatin, and Ruslan Abdulbasirov himself—a contender for “Performance of the Year” (19 points on 7-for-7 shooting, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in the victory over CSKA) scored 22 points on 10-for-10 shooting against “Pari NN” in the final round. Literally anyone can step up here. And even the problems UNICS faced during the regular season—more on that below—shouldn’t stop one of the top title contenders in the first round.

Why could MBA-MAI win?
A 0-14 record against UNICS shouldn’t be surprising, given that MBA-MAI generally doesn’t shine in matchups against the Big Four. This season, the Moscow-based team has suffered 16 losses in all 16 such games (against CSKA, UNICS, Zenit, and Lokomotiv Kuban). Despite all this, MBA-MAI can still put up a fight against the powerhouses, as seen in their recent memorable high-scoring games against CSKA, where MBA only lost in the final moments of overtime (108–109, 106–109).

MBA-MAI is unpredictable and has perhaps the best Russian player of the season, Andrey Zubkov (14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in the regular season). A blend of youth and experience—League veterans Evgeny Voronov and Viacheslav Zaitsev are here alongside young talents like Pavel Savkov. Vasily Karasev is an excellent motivator, though this squad will certainly find sources of pride and inspiration in their matchup against the frontrunner.

X-Factor
UNICS player injuries.
Another factor that could work for MBA-MAI is UNICS’s roster issues. The White-and-Greens battled CSKA for first place for most of the regular season, navigating the schedule with a minimal number of losses, but faded down the stretch. Frequent absences of key rotation players, including star Paris Lee, was particularly affected. This trend that became especially evident in the spring. The Kazan club suffered 4 of its 7 losses after March began.

In an attempt to fix the situation, the Kazan team signed Xavier Manford (5.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 5 games) to the backcourt, Elijah Stewart (2.5 points in 2 games), and Mikhail Kulagin (hasn’t played yet), but by the end of the regular season, they hadn’t yet convinced anyone that they were ready to immediately strengthen UNICS.