CSKA will face Zenit in the 3rd Place Series up to 4 wins.
Series Schedule
(1) CSKA vs (3) Zenit
Game 1: May 5 in Moscow
Game 2: May 7 in Moscow
Game 3: May 10 in St Petersburg
Game 4: May 12 in St Petersburg
Game 5: May 15 in Moscow (*)
Game 6: May 18 in St. Petersburg (*)
Game 7: May 21 in Moscow (*)
(*) – if necessary
Rivalry
Zenit versus CSKA!
The rivalry of 2 famous bands continues in the 2023 Playoffs, but not in an exact stage as year ago. In 2022, the Army team and the St. Petersburg team had an incredible Finals, the result became known only in the Game 7, and Zenit won the title for the first time in the history and CSKA lost in the Playoff series for the first time.
The rivalry continued in Autumn. CSKA and Zenit faced in the SuperCup final, the ending of this game became dramatic. 9.2 seconds before the end, Zenit took a time-out and trailed by 2. After that, Thomas Wimbush made a key-three-pointer, so the Moscow team had only 2 seconds to respond. But CSKA lacked of time:
In the 2022/23 Regular Season the teams played 4 games and every game had different scenario. In the first stage, CSKA got 2 wins – 85:80 and 100:80. In the second game, Casper Ware became a key factor of the Moscow team win, scoring 20 points in the third quarter.
But in the third game, Zenit took the win – the St. Petersburg team got CSKA the first loss of the season and ended the historic 24-game winning streak. Also, Zenit was close to win at home in March. The hosts started the fourth quarter as a leaders, but weren’t able to hold it.
In total, since 2014, the teams have played 36 games, CSKA won 23 of them
Duels
Casper Ware – Thomas Heurtel
With Alexey Shved absence, Caper Ware will take a huge responsibility. But the guard probably is ready for this challenge: he was the best scoring player of the Moscow team in the Semifinals against Loko averaging 16.2 points per game. Ware also showed the ability to make result in the clutch endings.
Thomas Heurtel can be named as a main opponent to Casper. The French guard is an offensive conductor of the team and proved it more than once in the Regular Season. He became the best in assists in the Regular Season with 8.6 per game. In the Playoffs, the number decreased to 7.5, but anyway, it looks quite impressive. Thomas also can create a moment for a shot and numbers can prove it: Heurtel is the best scoring player in Zenit Playoffs run with 13.5 points on average.
Nikola Milutinov – Artem Klimenko, Sergey Toropov and Royce Hamm.
No doubt, one of the key factors of the Series will be Nikola Milutinov game. CSKA bigman was unstoppable in the Regular Season, became the MVP of the season and had to help the team to reach the Finals. But in the Semifinals Game 2 suffered an ankle injury and was out. The Serbian center got back in the same Series, but the coaching staff had to limit his minutes, which affected the result. CSKA will increase chances of winning the 3rd Place Series.
After Trey Thompkins injury, there is no superhero in Xavi Pascual team, who will be able to conquer Milutinov. So the Spanish coach will search for the best options during the Series. Zenit has 3 options – Artem Klimenko, Sergey Toropov and Royce Hamm.
CSKA Key Factor
Samson Ruzhentsev
Young forward didn’t have enough minutes at the start of the Semifinal Series with more than 10 minutes in 4 games. But in Game 5, he became the key player, who helped to push the partners in the right direction and became the most effective player in CSKA: 4 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. In the remaining 2 games, Samson played 20 minutes on average and showed that despite the youth, he can make a result. No doubt, the forward will have his playing time in the 3rd Place Series.
Zenit Key Factor
Trent Frazier
After bright performance in the Regular season, where the guard averaged 17 points per game, the Playoffs started with a decline: only 11.3 points with 2.2 turnovers. It could be lack of experience as the 2022/23 season is the first pro-season for Frazier.
But at the same time, Trent shined in the Series against UNICS – in the first 2 home games, he scored 16 and 22 points and helped Zenit to come back to the Series from 0-2 to 2-2.
Defense against Offense
The teams have different play styles. CSKA is a powerful offensive team, averaged 95.6 points per game, which is the Regular Season record.
Zenit had absolutely different style. Xavi Pascual built a defensive system, which can be proved by stats: the St. Petersburg team let opponents score only 72.5 points per game – which was the lowest in the League.
