Zenit will host UNICS in the Game of the Week on Sunday.
Time: 13:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, St. Petersburg, KSC Arena
Broadcast: Match TV, League website
The second stage of the regular season already gives all basketball fans a really good rivalry: Zenit versus Loko in St. Petersburg!
Rivalry history
In the United League, Lokomotiv Kuban and Zenit have played 26 games, and the Krasnodar team has more wins – 14:12.
The first game between the teams in history took place in St Petersburg in the 2014/15 season. Back then, Zenit failed to do anything against the more powerful Loko and lost – 74:89. Malcolm Delaney scored 24 points and 7 assists.
Zenit and Lokomotiv Kuban have played twice in the first round this season, and both games were won by the Krasnodar team.
In October, Loko had some problems – the team started with a 4 losses in 5 games, so Zenit were considered the favourites. But the hosts had their own opinion: Loko got the win with solid defense – 69:67. Adrien Moerman could saved Zenit from loss, but missed his three-pointer.
2 months later the teams played in St. Petersburg, and here again Loko got the win. Aleksander Sekulic team won each of the quarters and eliminated any questions about the winner long before the end. Andrey Martiuk had his best game of his VTB League career: the young bigman scored 32 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and scored 40 eff. points.
Season progress
Loko (19-7) and Zenit (17-9) are neighbours in the standings and get third and fourth place. For both teams, a win in this game is extremely important.
Lokomotiv Kuban is trying to catch up with UNICS (20-6), which is one win ahead. However, Sekulic team also has a chance at the top spot in the regular season. Especially if you consider the Krasnodar team performance in December and January: 11 wins in 13 games.
Zenit, on the other hand, has an incredibly difficult time getting by the leading Army team (22-4) at the moment – the distance is 5 wins, and the team only need to play 10 games in the second stage. At the same time, it’s getting dangerous for Xavier Pascual team to lose – the team risk not only falling behind the Top 3, but also passing Enisey (16-10), who have just 1 less win.
Numbers
Like a month and a half ago, Zenit approaches the game with Loko as the best defensive team in the League. Xavi Pascual team allow their opponents to score 73.2 points per game, while their nearest rival, Enisey, allow 2.5 points more (75.6)!
In return, Loko has a good offense: the Krasnodar team ranks among the Top 3 in the League in scoring (85.0 points), behind only UNICS (85.4) and CSKA (87.9).
Zenit is second in the League in three-point shooting (37.6%). Loko does not long-range shooting (where the team has only 32.0%), but on two-point shots.
Loko is better in rebounds. The Krasnodar team averages 37.5 rebounds per game, compared to 33.7 for Zenit. But the St. Petersburg team has better ball control: only 12.2 turnovers per game – a Top 3 in the League.
Zenit offense is led by Thomas Heurtel, who is 1st in the League in assists (8.0 per game). Trent Frazier also should be mentioned (14.1 points and 4.0 assists), Vince Hunter (13.2 points, 6.2 steals and 1.6 steals) and Kyle Kuric (12.6 points and 1.5 assists). At the same time, no one in Zenit got more than 28 minutes on average.
Loko has a clear top DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Jaylen Barford duo, who are averaging 31.4 points combined. But it’s important to note that the coaching staff is entrusting playing minutes to young Russian players as well. Andrey Martiuk, Vladislav Emchenko, Aleksandr Scherbenev, Kirill Elatontsev, Anton Kvitkovskikh and Zakhar Vedischev are averaging more than 12 minutes per game, and none of them are under 25. At the same time, Kirill Temirov and Egor Sychkov are gradually getting playing time.
Signing
Just before the end of the first stage of the regular season, Loko announced Maurice Ndour signing, known to fans for his performances for UNICS (2017-2019).
Now the forward came to Krasnodar from Hapoel and has already made his debut for the new team against Runa: he came off the bench, played 14 minutes, scored 4 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block, Loko got the win 80:74.
The All-Star Game 2024
Both teams have All-Stars who will play at the All-Star Game 2024. Thomas Heurtel, Vince Hunter and Trent Frazier will represent Zenit, while DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Andrey Martyuk will be there for Loko.
And just 3 days before the game in St. Petersburg, it became known that Heurtel would also take part in the Olimpbet Three-Point Contest. The French guard was invited a year ago, but missed the event due to injury, and Heurtel was replaced by his current teammate Timofey Gerasimov, who was playing for Enisey at the time.
Zenit has previously been represented at the Three-Point Contest: Sergey Karasev was the best sniper in 2017, Kyle Kuric tried to win in 2018, and Billy Baron got the win in 2022.
