The SuperCup 2024 is over! Moscow hosted 3 decisive games on Saturday – here are the key moments.
Loko is back!
Lokomotiv has never been outside the Top 5 in the SuperCup history, but came to it as close as possible in the first 3 quarters of the 5th place game against Besiktas, while trailing by 16 points (the maximum difference was 17). In the fourth quarter, the Krasnodar team finally did what Andrey Vedischev had been talking about during the tournament – the team switched on defense. Vsevolod Ishchenko led the comeback and was supported by Andrey Martiuk and B.J. Johnson. Loko had a chance to win in regulation, but Martiuk missed 1 free-throw in the final seconds.
Winning shot
In overtime, the Turkish team was close to the win, but Loko newcomer Antonius Cleveland got the responsibility at the decisive moment and made a small miracle.
Recognition
Vedischev won his first game as head coach in an official game. And it wasn’t easy for him!
– The job of a coach is a hell of a story, the electric chair. Most importantly, you have to spend all your free time preparing for training, analyzing games, analyzing training, so I try very hard. I think I will get better, and so will my team.
Bronze for Zenit
The St. Petersburg team failed to make the trree-peat, but Xavier Pascual team had the right attitude in the 3rd place game. Zenit gained momentum after the halftim and crushed Crvena Zvezda with the trademark basketball – especially good on defense (11 points scored by Zvezda in the third quarter). Alex Poythress led the offense, and he proved himself in the paint and at the arc, while Denis Zakharov and Aleksandr Scherbenev came off the bench and played extremely well.
The Serbian team came to Moscow without 4 rotation players and was playing for the second day in a row had no one to bring such energy.
The St. Petersburg team has never been without the SuperCup trophy. At the first tournament, Zenit lost in the final, then won it 2 times straight, and now has added a bronze medal to the collection.
Final
It was the ninth game in 2024 for CSKA and UNICS. Before the deciding game, the score was tied 4-4, but there was a nuance. The Moscow team lost all 3 games in the regular season, but took the Final series with confidence (4:1). On Saturday, CSKA demonstrated that killer instinct again. CSKA pressed the opponent and didn’t let get out of 10 points scored after first quarter – 22:9. Despite the loss of the important Marcos Knight, the Kazan team gradually found the rhythm, got closer in the score and even cut the deficit to 3 points in the third quarter after Mikhail Belenitskii three-pointer.
CSKA didn’t feel like it had lost control. The Moscow team responded with Tonye Jekiri and-one, Casper Ware and Anton Astapkovic three-pointers. Toward the end of the stretch, new team leader Aleksa Avramovic stepped inand gave the right emotions. The Serbian guard made several layups and Semen Antonov closed the quarter with a long-range shot – 68:58.
In the last quarter CSKA gave the opponent no more chances to save and took home the trophy – 87:72. The Moscow team is now tied with Zenit in the number of SuperCups – both teams now have 2.
To be continued
CSKA vs. UNICS is not only a remake of the Finals, but also the opening game of the 2024/25 season. In exactly a week, the teams will play in Megasport in the first game of the VTB League regular season.
MVP
Aleksa Avramovic took his first individual award after arriving in Russia – the Paris Olympics’ best defensive player was named MVP of the main preseason tournament.
Aleksa averaged 14.3 points, 6.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 17.0 eff. points.
Dwayne Bacon (Zenit), Uros Plavsic (Crvena Zvezda), B.J. Johnson (Lokomotiv Kuban), Kerem Konan (Besiktas) and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (UNICS) made it in the all-SuperCup team.
Level
Goran Sasic, Executive Director of the Euroleague Coaches Council:
– I talked to the referees who officiate SuperCup games, and they said they work as if it’s a playoff battle. I agree with that.
While the Serbian and Turkish teamsare still in the process of preparing for the season, the Russian teams are showing a very high level of basketball. This is the level of the Euroleague.
Top Plays
SuperCup 2024 Day 4 results
5th place game
Lokomotiv Kuban vs Besiktas – 97:96 OT (21:22, 19:23, 17:28, 28:12, 12:11)
Lokomotiv Kuban: Johnson (26), Cleveland (13 + 6 rebounds + 5 assists), Ishchenko (13 + 6 assists).
Besiktas: Allman (19 + 6 rebounds), Morgan (13), Arslan (13), Terry (10)
3rd place game
Crvena Zvezda vs Zenit – 70:83 (16:20, 23:13, 11:23, 20:27)
Crvena Zvezda: Miller-McIntyre (20 + 8 rebounds + 6 assists), Canaan (10)
Zenit: Bacon (19 + 5 assists + 5 rebounds), Scherbenev (16), Poythress (14).
Final
CSKA vs UNICS – 87:72 (22:9, 23:26, 23:23, 19:14)
CSKA: Avramovic (15 + 6 assists), Ware (15), Trimble (14), Jekiri (11).
UNICS: Taylor (19 + 7 assists), Belenitskii (13), Reynolds (10 + 5 rebounds).
