All the best about the SuperCup 2022 last games.
Zenit beat CSKA again in the final
It was hard to come up with a more intriguing sign for the Super Bowl decider than a repeat of the 2021/22 season finale. There was no doubt that for both teams, despite the pre-season status of the tournament, this confrontation was fundamental.
And the game itself in tension, emotions, scenario became the final. CSKA, more rested, quickly found the opponent’s weak spot in defense and put pressure on him with Nikola Milutinov help, he scored 12 points by the end of the first quarter – despite Zenit had only 14! But Xavi Pascual, even before the halftime, found a solution to the problem, revived his team’s offense and at the same time completely turned off Milutinov – the Serbian center scored only one shot during the entire second quarter. And Thomas Wimbush gave Zenit the lead with a buzzer-brater that marked the end of the first half – 35:34.
The second half completely repeated the scenario of the first. CSKA got a 15-minute rest, was charged with new emotions and created a double-digit lead in the third quarter. Ware, Astapkovich and Jean-Charles helped Milutinov and it seemed that here the Army team would not give up the lead and defend the title.
But Zenit once again appeared to be a fairly flexible team with a long bench. Pascual actively rotated the squad, trying out all new combinations of players. Fridzon did a huge amount of work, Klimenko was useful in the paint and Joe Thomasson scored two consecutive three-pointers at the most important moment. And the St. Petersburg team came back again, giving the audience gathered in the stands of the VTB Arena and at the screens an amazing ending.
CSKA entered the end of the game with a slight advantage, but in the key possession 9 seconds before the end leading by 2 points, the Army team did not have time to enter the ball. After Zenit’s timeout, the ball ended up in Thomas Wimbush hands, who scored the most important three-pointer in the tournament over Jean-Charles.
The Moscow team had a time-out and 2 seconds to save, but the St. Petersburg team figured out the plan of the rivals, made a steal – and became Super Cup-2022 winners!
The MVP
Thomas Wimbush became the SuperCup 2022 MVP. Zenit forward scored 20 points in the final, scored a decesive 3-pointer and deservedly lifted the trophy over his head.
UNICS won the bronze medal despite Macon’s injury
Despite the SuperCup is a pre–season tournament, the battle for medals was as intense as possible. UNICS which had won a fairly confident beat Mega the day before pulled away from the first minutes, leaving Partizan NIS behind. Jalen Reynolds acted the brightest in UNICS: the center dominated both in the paint and from the perimeter, finishing the quarter with 10 points and 3 rebounds.
But if the start of the game was left to the Kazan team, then the guests from Serbia seized control: they gave a 15-0 run and left for the halftime in a good mood. Partizan NIS continued to press, until at some point th team had 9 point lead. And here one of the key episodes of the game happened. Georgiy Zhbanov, who came off the bench provoked Kevin Punter to two consecutive unsportsmanlike fouls in just 15 seconds. Having been left without their best player, Partizan NIS got confused and lost the lead for a few minutes – but Velimir Perasovic team had enough of this to not only draw the score, but also go ahead.
The fourth quarter became a thriller in which the teams looked absolutely equal rivals. UNICS lost the leader – Daryl Macon suffered a hip injury. But without the American guard, Nenad Dimitrievic took the Kazan team offense into his own hands. His actions did not allow Partizan to win SuperCup medals.
Performance
The Macedonian point guard of UNICS Nenad Dimitrievic was unstoppable in the bronze game: 30 points, 11 of 14 from the game, 3 assists, 2 rebounds.
Loko beat Mega MIS in the two youngest teams in the SuperCup duel
In the game for the 5th place, Loko and Mega MIS played – two similar teams. Both Krasnodar and Belgrade teams are betting on the youth and the style of play generally coincides – with an emphasis on offense and high speeds.
Loko, who had a rest day in the asset looked fresher at the start of this game. For the first quarter, the Krasnodar team scored 5 three–pointers, for the second – 4 more. The first half ended with a long-range shotbuzzer by Dmitry Uzinskii – 50:42 Loko lead. But already from the start of the second half, Mega completely changed the course of the game. The young French leader of Belgrade, Malcolm Cazalon, repeatedly hacked the opponents’ defense and by the end of the 3rd quarter and had 23 points. Mega MIS, having won the third 10-minute with a two-fold advantage (30:15), felt quite comfortable.
The Serbs had high chances to win, but Loko did everything to let the game into a tense ending. And Barford, Martyuk, Shcherbenev and Vedishchev returned the lead to Loko. Cazalon could have put the game into overtime, but he did not score free-throws in the end – and Loko won the SuperCup 2022 5th place.
Best 5 of the SuperCup 2022
Alexander Shcherbenev (Lokomotiv Kuban), Malcolm Cazalon (Mega MIS), James Nunnully (Partizan NIS), Jalen Reynolds (UNICS) and Nikola Milutinov (CSKA) entered the Best 5 of the SuperCup 2022.
Xavier Pascual became the best coach of the SuperCup.
The VTB United League SuperCup 2022 final standings
1. Zenit (Saint Petersburg)
2. CSKA (Moscow)
3. UNICS (Kazan)
4. Partizan NIS (Belgrade)
5. Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar)
6. Mega MIS (Belgrade)
