In the best-of-five semi-final series Zenit will face CSKA.
Where and When
Game1. May 17, 20:30 (msk), Sibur Arena, St. Petersburg
Game 2. May 19, 20:00 (msk), Sibur-Arena, St. Petersburg
Game 3. May 22, 17:00 (msk), Moscow, USH CSKA.
Game 4. May 24, 20:00 (msk), Moscow, USH CSKA.
Game 5. June 3, 20:00 (msk), St. Petersburg, Sibur-Arena.
* – if necessary
Play-offs head-to-head meetings
2017/18 season. Final Four. CSKA win in semi-finals 1:0.
2018/19 season. Semi-finals. CSKA win the series 3:0
Regular season
Zenit: 1st (20 wins, 4 defeats)
CSKA: 4th (17 wins, 7 defeats)
Regular season head-to-head meetings
Both games between Zenit and CSKA took place late in the regular season when the tentative table structure was already in place. The first game was in Moscow on February 13. Though Zenit was an away team, the St. Petersburg team could easily be considered the favorite. First, Zenit came to Moscow as the regular-season leader with 14 wins in 16 games. Second, CSKA had serious roster problems at the time – for various reasons, Nikola Milutinov, Tornike Shengelia, Ivan Ukhov and Mike James, the team’s best offensive player, were absent from the floor.
From the very first minutes the game was a close one, with constant lead changes. By the second quarter, however, CSKA’s limited rotation paid off: Zenit allowed only 10 points over the quarter. That was enough to give the visitors a double-digit lead at the big break, 39-29. CSKA wouldn’t be CSKA if they didn’t pull themselves together at halftime. The Army team came out charged in the second half, went on a 9-2 run, and eventually closed the game on a hard-fought run, though Zenit kept trying to pull ahead several times. Still, their margin of safety was too great – although they trailed by only three points in the final minute, Xavi Pascual’s team held on to their winning score.
CSKA took that blow very seriously as they suffered their fifth loss of the season (the first in United League history) and third in their last five games.
The Army team tried to get revenge on April 5 in St. Petersburg. That game was significant for both teams. If CSKA won, they still had a chance, albeit a very theoretical one, of being in first place in the standings or at least of being in the top three. But if Zenit won, they automatically secured a win in the regular season.
Zenit had no intention of sticking around and went on a 14-0 run as early as the first quarter, giving CSKA a lead of +9 in the first 10 minutes. And in the third quarter, when Billy Baron made three three-pointers in a row, it would have appeared that CSKA had lost any chance to win.
But the Army team would not give up and cut the 18-point lead to -1 in just one quarter, pulling the game close. Still, Zenit had their hero: Kevin Pangos, who had only missed a few baskets on the court before. One of Zenit’s best players overcame his nerves and scored nine points in the end, sealing off CSKA’s comeback. Zenit won the regular season for the first time in their history and were the only team in the United League to beat Dimitris Itoudis’ team in both games of the season.
Why Zenit can take the series?
Defense and organization are probably the main words in the vocabulary of both Xavi Pascual and Dimitris Itoudis. However, the defense of their rim has taken their defense to a whole new level this season. Zenit became the top defensive team of the season (71.6 points per game), surpassing even such a defensive monster as UNICS.
That was especially evident in the games against CSKA. Recall that the Army team led the league in scoring during the season with averages of 92.46 points per game. Both times, however, Zenit kept CSKA from scoring 80 points: In April they scored 77, and in February they scored 71, 20 points less than their statistical average.
Of course, Zenit didn’t boast high-scoring performances in those games either, but the St. Petersburg players have shown an extremely pragmatic approach all season: Winning, not scoring, is more important. However, there are some shortcomings, too. The main problem for Zenit is compensating for the absence of their pivotal player and team captain Mateusz Ponitka. The lack of this key player (primarily in defense) was evident in the Euroleague games against Barcelona. Yes, even without Ponitka and Gudaitis, Zenit quickly crushed PARMA, but they will face an opponent of a different class and experience.
Why CSKA can take the series?
Just as in the regular season, the Army team doesn’t look favorable in this contest. In addition to scheduling problems (the extended series with Nizhny, after which CSKA had little time to rest), the Red and Blue remain plagued by an epidemic of injuries. In their series with Nizhny Novgorod, Dimitris Itoudis’ team clearly lacked the power and momentum that Joel Bolomboy brought to the game – CSKA’s center is still in the injured reserve, and his recovery schedule is still uncertain. In game three against Nizhny, the team also lost their starting joker, Iffe Lundberg, who became dizzy and was hospitalized at halftime. Whether the Dane will be able to participate in the series with Zenit remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, it’s certainly not the spirit of CSKA Moscow to despair. This season the history of meetings between Zenit and CSKA is not limited to the United League: The teams also met in the Euroleague, and the Muscovites won both Euroleague games. Interestingly, CSKA secured its participation in the Euroleague playoffs with a win in March. The Army team defeated Zenit by 12 points, and Johannes Voigtmann played a key role in that win, outscoring the Petersburg club’s frontcourt to perfection: The German scored 21 points, while Arturas Gudaitis, for example, was just two points shy of the lead. Zenit’s frontcourt is currently weakened by injuries, potentially unleashing Voigtmann, who has been in terrific form this spring. Nor should we forget the team’s old guard, Daniel Hackett, who was the main character in the win over Nizhny Novgorod in Game 3 of the series.
X-factor
Time to recover and rest.
A very important factor that could affect Zenit’s success. Zenit, after losing to Barcelona, dropped out of the Euroleague, while CSKA remains in contention for the top club trophy in the Old World. If the series drags on, and a fifth game is scheduled for early June, CSKA’s United League playoff schedule will overlap with its Euroleague contest against Efes, which doesn’t promise to be easy. In addition, Zenit easily defeated PARMA in the first round, while CSKA played three tough and grueling games against Nizhny Novgorod.
All of this left the team with little time to recover: CSKA will have only one day of rest after their series with Volga, while Zenit haven’t played since May 13. With CSKA’s limited rotation, that could be fatal for the Army team, or at least seriously hamper their start to the semifinal series.
Comments
Zenit head coach Xavier Pascual:
— Our victory in Perm took us to the semifinals of the VTB United League. We’ll play against CSKA in the semifinals. Everyone knows very well the experience and quality of the players and coaches of that team. They have one of the best rosters in Europe. We’re playing at home and, in spite of the losses we’ve suffered, we can win this game if we stay focused, energetic and determined during the entire 40 minutes on the court.
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– This season never ceases to amaze us. Now we have this unfortunate incident with Iffe. He’s better, but he’s hospitalized and won’t be able to help us. But we’re ready to fight. The team seems to be under too much stress, obviously we’re not shooting well. We’re carrying a heavy burden on our shoulders. We’re trying to work on that. We have players who are ready for this situation, they have a lot of experience, they want the best for the club. We are going to St. Petersburg to compete with a great club; Zenit this year proved that they have a good team, they have led the VTB League since the beginning of the season, they made the playoff series with Barcelona to five games. So for sure it’s going to be a fight.
