Zenit will face MBA in the Quarterfinals up to 3 games.
Series Schedule
Game 1 – 1st April, 16:00 (Moscow time) in St. Petersburg
Game 2 – 3 April, 20:00 (Moscow time) in St. Petersburg
Game 3 – April 6, 19:30 (Moscow time) in Moscow
Game 4 – April 8, 14:00 (Moscow time) in Moscow (*)
Game 5 – 11 April, 20:00 (Moscow time) in St. Petersburg (*)
* – if necessary
Regular Season
Zenit: 3rd place (23/9)
MBA: 6th place (15/17)
Rivalry
The rivalry hisotry between these teams is not the most extensive – they first played in October 2022. And that’s no surprise: the St. Petersburg club has played in the League since the first year of its existence, while MBA this is their debut season.
In the 2022/23 Regular Season, Zenit and MBA played 4 games – both teams were in Group A in the second stage.
By the November game, the clubs were neighbours in the standings. MBA fourth place was a pleasant surprise, but for Zenit, third place and already 2 losses in 9 games was a wake-up call. The St. Petersburg club had no trouble defeating their opponent at Sibur Arena – 87:62.
In January, however, MBA had a historic game. The Moscow team trailed by 20 in the first half, but after went into overtime. Timofey Yakushin’s shot was decisive in the OT:
So MBA made their biggest comeback of the season and for the first time in their history defeated a team from the United League Top-3 – 76:75
Two weeks later the teams played for the third time this season – now in St. Petersburg. This time MBA took the lead, while Zenit kept catching up. Once again the game came down to a tense ending, where Xavi Pascual’s team was stronger. The game result was all decided by 1 shot again: Zenit’s newcomer Royce Hamm took a rebound after Thomas Heurtel missed shot and made a dunk – 73:71. MBA didn’t have enough time to respond.
MBA lacked the energy and strength to defeat Zenit the game in March. Here Zenitth St.Petersburg team controlled the game from the first to the last minute – 90:62.
History
MBA head coach Vasily Karasev was Zenit’s coach from the club’s founding until 2018. The Russian specialist led the St. Petersburg team to the Playoffs in each season, with 122 wins in the League – but never made it to the Finals.
After leaving Zenit, Vasily Karasev took a break in his coaching career, and before the invitation to MBA worked in women’s basketball.
Karasev knows exactly how to win a Playoff series with Zenit. Will he be able to figure out how to win a series against Zenit?
Heroes
Zenit
The team’s undisputed leader is Thomas Heurtel. Despite he missed preseason training and joined the team the week before the start of the season, he has the greatest influence on the team’s offense. That can be proved out by stats: 64.8 % of all Zenit assists this season was made by the French guard. He was the best assister in the regular season with an average of 8.6 assists per game.
At the same time, Zenit noticeably improved after Trent Frazier appearance in February. The American guard was the offensive anchor during Heurtel absence. Frazier was incredibly efficient on offense, scoring 17.0 points with a good shooting percentage (47.8%, 38.6% three-pointer) and making out 4.9 assists per game.
MBA
It was incredibly difficult at the beginning of the season to single out the team leader. Closer to the winter, Aleksandr Khomenko began to take more responsibilities – and then got a season-ending knee injury.
MBA is the only team where no one scored more than 11 points. The best in scoring is Timofey Yakushin (11.0 points), along with double-digit scoring performances by Andrey Lopatin (10.8), Daniil Kasatkin (10.5) and Evgeny Voronov (10.0).
If we are talking about rebounding, Andrey Lopatin (5,0 rebounds) and Ilya Platonov (4,3) led the team. Timofey Yakushin (3.3 assists) and Makar Konovalov (3.1) are the best in assisting.
Facts
MBA is the first League newcomer since 2015 to make the Playoffs in its debut season. The previous team was Zenit in the 2014/15 season – then Vasily Karasev team won 22 of 30 games, finished fourth in the regular season and lost 2-3 to Nizhny Novgorod in the Quarterfinals. In each of the following seasons, Zenit has won at least 1 Playoff series.
Zenit and MBA are the youngest teams not only in the 2023 Playoffs, but also in the United League in general. Zenit was created in 2014, MBA in 2013.
MBA is the youngest team in the 2023 Playoffs. The average age of the Moscow team is 25.9 years old. Zenit is the oldest with an average age of 30.
Zenit had the least conceded points this season with an average of 72.3 points per game. The St. Petersburg team also had the best defense in the 2020/21 season, when it was eliminated in the semifinals.
Zenit was the best team in the regular season in three-point percentage (40.3 %). In the first month of the season, MBA players led in the three-point percentage.
MBA is the first team in history to make the Playoffs without a single foreigner.
