The SuperCup 2024 Day 2 is now history. On Thursday, VTB Arena hosted 2 more games – here are the most interesting events.
Zenit repeats the same path
The winner of the SuperCup 2023 Zenit also started the tournament a year ago against Besiktas. Back then, Zenit won in the ending (72:69).
Today, everything was the same, right down to the final score, although the first quarter looked like a repeat of the Turkish team’s game against UNICS on the opening day (the 28-point difference was the largest in SuperCup history). Omari Spellman immediately got the shot, while Trent Frazier and Xavier Moon made drives into the paint – 25:9 after 10 minutes.
The St. Petersburg team failed to maintain that rhythm. Perhaps it was relax, but the offense fell apart, and Zenit couldn’t restart. After a few good defensive possessions, the Turkish team began to make a comeback, adding more aggression and getting closer with long-range shots (50%, 11 of 22). Frequent missed free throws didn’t help Zenit either (12 total, 20 of 32). Besiktas came back already in the second quarter, and in the next half the game was equal.
In the decisive moment, free-throws helped Zenit. Jonah Matthews could have tied in the last minute, but missed 1 of 2, and Moon made both – 83:80.
Series
Zenit is undefeated in this preseason. The St. Petersburg team warmed up versus Tambov (105:69), defeated Erokspor (94:55, 95:67), then beat MBA-MAI (80:71) and UNICS (63:50) in the Kondrashin and Belov Cup at home.
The team that many call the main favorite for the new season continued its winning way at the SuperCup.
Besiktas dropped out of the fight for the top 3
On Wednesday, Besiktas lost to UNICS 69:97. With today’s loss, the Turkish team becomes the first participant of the 5th place game, which will take place on the final day of the tournament.
Legends are in action again
The Friendship game of the second international KES-BASKET Super Cup collected not only young talents but also famous players of the recent past. Along with Sergey Kushchenko and Ilona Korstin, Andrey Kirilenko, Svetlana Abrosimova, Sergey Panov, Aleksey Savrasenko, Viktor Khryapa and Sergey Monia played basketball again.
CSKA did well against the Euroleague team
Andreas Pistiolis said after the game against Loko that he was satisfied with the team’s play, but expects more from the defense. The Moscow team won the first game with a SuperCup record for points scored (105), but also let opponents score 95.
The players took those words seriously. Crvena Zvezda struggled to score 11 points in the first quarter and hovered stuck at that mark, CSKA had a double-digit lead. Still, the Moscow team wasn’t ready to hold that level of pre-season for the second day in a row. The Serbian team got back in the game with rebounds and Uros Plavsic, who turned this game into a personal dunk contest (21 points on 6 of 8 from the game and 9 of 10 free throws).
Zvezda came without some leaders (Milos Teodosic, Nemanja Nedovic, Rokas Giedraitis and Joel Bolomboy), had to work hard and chased CSKA – the second game of the day was also decided in the end. The League Playoffs MVP Melo Trimble shined at a key moment, and Aleksa Avramovic scored the game-winning point from the line.
CSKA in the final
CSKA and Crvena Zvezda have played 18 games in European competition, the Moscow team wins this rivalry 16:2. The Serbian team has never won in Moscow and failed to change that at the SuperCup as well – 94-:92, the Moscow team became the first finalist of the tournament.
Support
Crvena Zvezda was not left without support in Moscow. Only a small portion of Europe loudest fans came to the SuperCup with their team, but they were loud.
Debut
Dwayne Bacon has only recently joined Zenit and is still far from optimal shape. The star newcomer looked decent.
Dwayne had 21 points and 5 rebounds with 7 of 12 from the ggame in 21 minutes. Together with Xavier Moon, he was the best scoring player of the game – something Zenit fans will soon come to accept as the norm.
Quote
Georgy Zhbanov assessed Zenit current shape:
– How would you assess the team’s shape now?
– We are still preparing, still feeling each other out. Therefore, we are not 100% ready as a team yet.
– How many percent are you ready for now?
– About 70-75%.
The Super Cup 2024 Day 2 results
Zenit vs Besiktas – 83:80 (25:9, 17:26, 21:25, 20:20).
Zenit: Moon (21 + 5 assists), Bacon (21 + 5 rebounds), Spellman (15 + 8 rebounds), Frazier (12).
Besiktas: Matthews (17), Morgan (13 + 5 rebounds), Allman (10 + 5 assists), Needham (10), Martin (10).
CSKA vs Crvena Zvezda – 94:92 (23:11, 23:25, 26:26, 22:30)
CSKA: Trimble (21), Avramovic (16), Ware (14).
Crvena Zvezda: Plavsic (21 + 5 rebounds), Canaan(21 + 5 steals), Dobric (12 + 5 rebounds).
Standings
Group A
CSKA – 2-0, Crvena Zvezda – 0-1, Lokomotiv Kuban – 0-1.
Group B
UNICS – 1-0, Zenit – 1-0, Besiktas – 0-2.
Day 3 Schedule
17:00 Lokomotiv Kuban vs. Crvena Zvezda
20:00 UNICS vs Zenit.
