Efes defeated Lokomotiv in the final, Mike James named MVP, CSKA took home a full set of medals. Highlights from the final day of the Supercup

In this tournament, Zenit had two of its three games come down to tense finishes, and lost both times. In this match, the blue-white-and-blues had a chance to salvage the game. Thanks to aggressive defense at key moments, they forced a series of turnovers by Igokea. But their own mistakes and missed shots, combined with the Bosnians’ composure at the free-throw line, prevented the St. Petersburg team from catching up to their opponent.

Igokea finished the tournament with a 83–79 victory and took 5th place. Zenit ended up with three losses and a lot of valuable information for the coaching staff.

Buzzers
Dmitry Kulagin was the first to make his mark. The guard capped off the first half of the game between Zenit and Igokea with a spectacular shot as the buzzer sounded.

And then Xavier Rathan-Mayes took over. His shot came at the end of the third quarter of the UNICS-CSKA game.

The final match wasn’t without its own last-minute goal. Maxim Barashkov’s three-pointer cemented Lokomotiv’s lead heading into halftime.

UNICS Failed to Get Revenge Against CSKA
UNICS got off to a strong start in this tournament. A victory over Zenit and a solid performance against Anadolu Efes raised hopes that the Kazan team would be able to get revenge against CSKA for their loss in last season’s League finals.

But the Army Men had other ideas. From the very first minutes, the Moscow team seized the initiative in the third-place game. Defense was the key to their early success. The red-and-blues shut down their own three-second zone and forced UNICS’ offense out to the perimeter. While the Kazan team struggled to find their shot (their first 10 attempts from beyond the arc were off the mark), CSKA methodically built up their lead, which reached “+16”—18–2—still in the first quarter.

A 11-point run by Kazan gave hope for a possible comeback, but it turned out to be only a temporary surge. By halftime, CSKA was already leading by 24 points—45–21. And even though UNICS picked up the pace noticeably in the second half, it wasn’t enough to bring the game back into contention.

A convincing victory over their archrival earned CSKA the Supercup bronze medals—79–59.

Efes is the First Foreign Winner of the Supercup
The final lived up to all expectations. From the very first minutes and throughout the entire game, it was a tense, evenly matched battle on the court. Anadolu Efes relied more on individual skill, while Lokomotiv delighted the crowd with its trademark fast-paced basketball.

The outcome of the game wasn’t decided until the final moments. And that’s when Mike James emerged as the hero. His accurate three-pointer with a foul with 14 seconds left on the clock extended Efes’s lead to 6 points—88–82—securing the victory for his team.