UNICS will face Lokomotiv Kuban in the 2023 Finals up to 4 wins.
Series Schedule
(2) UNICS vs (5) Lokomotiv Kuban
Game 1: May 6 in Kazan.
Game 2: May 8 in Kazan
Game 3: May 11 in Krasnodar
Game 4: May 13 in Krasnodar
Game 5: May 16 in Kazan (*)
Game 6: May 19 in Krasnodar (*)
Game 7: May 22 in Kazan (*)
(*) – if necessary
Regular Season
UNICS: 2nd place (24 wins, 8 losses)
Lokomotiv Kuban: 5th place (17 wins, 15 losses)
Rivalry
UNICS defeated Lokomotiv Kuban twice in the first round. In October, the game was equal, and Louis Labeyrie (19 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks) helped the Kazan team to beat the opponent – 83:75. In Krasnodar in late November, on the other hand, UNICS took the lead after just 6 minutes from the start. Velimir Perasovic team started the game with a 23-2 run, and by the halftime had a 29-point lead. In the final quarter, the Kazan team slowed down, allowing Lokomotiv to cut the difference – 82:70. After that game, UNICS winning streak against Loko became 9 games.
But they couldn’t reach the jubilee 10 games. On February 2, Loko didn’t give UNICS a chance in Kazan (103-70), breaking a long losing streak. The Krasnodar team scored the second 100 points of the season (making them the first team to score more than 100 against UNICS) and their largest win against the Kazan team in history. Their ;ast Regular Season game in March had a little significance. UNICS had secured the 2nd place, while Lokomotiv had only a theoretical chance of getting the 4th place, which they failed to achieve, ending up in the 5th place. The Krasnodar team won at home – 78:70.
The teams have now played 40 games in the VTB United League. The rivalry score is tied – 20:20.
UNICS and Lokomotiv have played in the last 2 Playoffs and the Kazan team has always won. UNICS stopped Loko in the Semifinals (3-0) in 2021, and in the 2021/22 season the Kazan team defeated Loko in the 3rd Place Series (3-1).
Semifinals
UNICS
In the Semifinals, UNICS faced reigning champion Zenit. The Series stretched to the maximum possible 7 games, with all wins were at home. The Kazan team started 2-0, the Game 1 ended with a 27-point difference, while the St. Petersburg team responded at Sibur Arena (same 27-point lead in Game 4). UNICS reacted decently in the important Game 5 – 78:63, but this was just a beginning. Zenit secured win in the Game 6 (82-80). The Series result came down to the Game 7 final seconds in a highly dramatic battle. With 5 seconds left, Zenit had a chance to win the game, Caleb Homesley passed the ball to Andrey Zubkov, but the Russian forward lost his balance and fell out of bounds. The hosts took possession and used the remaining seconds to set a quick possession. Vince Hunter sprinted across the court and was fouled in the paint. After amking his first free-throw and giving UNICS the lead – 80:79, The Kazan team center missed the second, but Zenit had no chance to respond.
Lokomotiv Kuban
CSKA, who set a winning record in the Regular Season, was considered the clear favorite to win the Semifinals. The Army team had also defeated Lokomotiv Kuban 4 times during the season. The Moscow team won the Game 1, but the Krasnodar team showed their competitiveness – 87:84. The Game 2 was taken by Loko – 84:83. At the end of this game, Nikola Milutinov suffered an injury, which was an important factor in the win. In Krasnodar, the teams exchanged wins (84:81 by Loko and 79:73 by CSKA), and once again it became clear that the Krasnodar team would not stop and seriously contending for the Finals.
Game 5 in Moscow confirmed that, with a final score 85:68. Game 6 left the Loko fans disappointed. The Army team took down their opponent 98:75 in Basket Hall. But the decisive game again was very tense and eventually came down to overtime. Loko started the OT with Okaro White three-pointer and Vladislav Emchenko made free-throws, but the guests lost Jaylen Barford and DeVaugnh Akoon-Purcell due to foul out, and this allowed CSKA to tie the game.
In such a clutch, individual actions desided the result of games. Loko had their hero. Aleksandr Shcherbenev made a three-pointer at the key moment, and then made 2 free-throws (5-point lead with 105 seconds left). CSKA tried to catch up in the remaining time, relying on three-point attempts, but Alexey Shved and Dallas Moore failed to use their chances. In the final minute, Shcherbenev and White made their free-throws, and Loko took the win, returning to the Finals 10 years later.
Strengths
UNICS
Velimir Perasovic is coahing UNICS for the second season. The Croatian specialist is focused primarily on strong defense and discipline. Perasovic has been consistently building a system in which each player has his own role. The Kazan team players have a distinctive offensive leader – Daryl Macon. Jalen Reynolds gives the teammates energy off the bench. The coaching staff often uses Georgiy Zhbanov to guard the opponents’ leaders. Luis Labeyrie is a symbol of strength and power, who screens, rebounds and doesn’t get lost in the paint.
It’s important to note that UNICS is also strong in rotation: 11 players average 16 minutes or more per season, but only 3 players play more than 25 minutes – Labeyrie, Macon and Dimitrijevic.
Lokomotiv Kuban
Loko made some big adjustments along the way, including DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, Chris Horton and Okaro White. The front office worked perfectly: newcomers made the Krasnodar team a different. In their Series with Pari NN and CSKA, the Krasnodar team has already shown that the Regular Season results don’t reflect their true power at a critical moment in the season. In both cases, Loko lost all 4 Regular Season games, but were stronger in the Playoffs. That makes it difficult for Loko opponents, who may not be able to correctly rate the opponent true potential and abilities. All we can say for sure is that Lokomotiv is in good shape for the final run of the season.
Traditionally strong for Lokomotiv, the foreigners combine well with the young Russian players. Andrey Martiuk, Aleksandr Shcherbenev, Vladislav Emchenko and Zakhar Vedischev play an important role for the Krasnodar team, which uses fast and aggressive basketball.
Key factor
Nenad Dimtrijevic is not mentioned in UNICS’ strengths, only for the simple reason. He’s in great shape and has improved dramatically over his already decent play in the Semifinals against Zenit. In Games 5, 6 and 7, the Macedonian guard averaged 26.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Now he’ll try to do it again in the Finals.
Duel
Daryl Macon versus Jalen Barford
Macon is one of the best scoring players of the season. In the Regular Season, he was second on the scorer’s list with a 17.6 points per game. In 12 games, he scored more than 20 points. The American guard not only had a high scoring output, but also got a 52-45-90 stats. Daryl is a key offensive option, and his actions will have a direct impact on the Series.
Having moved to Krasnodar from Astana last season, Barford finally joined the team and has become its undisputed leader this season. The Krasnodar team strengthened their roster only in the middle of the regular season, while for a long time the American guard was responsible for that vital part of their success. He retained his offensive dominance even after the rebuild. Barford became one of the best scorers of the season with 16.8 points on 34.8% of three-pointers (6th overall and 2nd among those who played in over 30 games).
Finals Facts
This season there will be the first ever Final with UNICS and Lokomotiv Kuban rivlary.
The League will have a new champion. Previously, CSKA (10 times), Khimki (1) and Zenit (1) won the title.
Lokomotiv returned to the Finals after 10 years. The last time they reached the top was in 2013. The last time UNICS played in 2021.
Loko had a 53% winning percentage last Regular Season. Teams with such a low percentage have never played in the Finals before.
Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon played together for the University of Arkansas in the NCAA for 2 years, from 2016 to 2018.
Okaro White helped UNICS reach the League Finals in 2021/22. The forward joined Loko this winter and was an important part of the Krasnodar team path to the Finals.
