CSKA Moscow beat UNICS Kazan away in the VTB United League match of the week. The military team left no chance for the current champions (79:66).
The most productive player of the match was the French forward of the Muscovites Amat M’Bye, who scored 17 points.
“Championship” prepared material based on the results of the main confrontation of Russian basketball.
Preface
Emil Rajkovic and Velimir Perasovic
Photo: Press service of the VTB United League
CSKA and UNICS approached the confrontation as leaders of the VTB United League. In 11 meetings, the army team won 10 victories, and out of 10 matches the Kazan team, in turn, won 8. In total, the teams met 33 times in the VTB league, and CSKA won in 25 matches.
Before the throw-in, fans were looking forward to several direct confrontations and, first of all, the coaches’ duel. Emil Rajkovic and Velimir Perasovic have had many direct confrontations since 2021.
On the pitch Casper Ware from CSKA and Nenad Dimitrievich from Kazan should have caught the attention. Furthermore, it was very interesting to see the confrontation between the “big” teams.
Both coaches praised their rivals. Rajkovic said the meeting with the defending champions was a good indicator of what the team had done up to this stage of the season and what needed to be done as the next step of progress. Perasovich stated that CSKA is currently the strongest team in the league, which has physical strength, defends well and gives the most assists in the league. The Croatian coach also admitted that he expected an interesting and difficult match.
Raikovich prepared a brilliant plan that worked
Emil Rajkovic
Photo: Press service of the VTB United League
The teams began the match very cautiously, which is not typical for these teams. It felt like they were playing a raffle. CSKA seemed to be drying up the game, letting UNICS play first, responding only attack by attack, but at the same time acting specifically from the opponent. Most likely, Raikovich was simply trying to lull the vigilance of the people of Kazan, and he succeeded.
Not everything went well for the UNICS front line, and it was obvious that they needed to release Jalen Reynolds before the “green” paint became a passing yard. At first he was active, but soon he weakened and adopted the most obvious shooting options, which naturally infuriated Velimir Perasovic.
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UNICS was terrible on both boards, resulting in 42 rebounds to 26 rebounds for CSKA. By the way, before this game, the Kazan team averaged almost 34 rebounds per game. The forward line of the Tatarstan team is one of the strongest in the league, but today Emil Raikovich simply shut it down.
The big men of the military team worked well in the confrontations, while they themselves were very active in the rebound. If Raikovich did not focus on the UNICS defensive line, which was already missing Marcos Knight, then neutralizing the opponent’s big players was obviously the main task of the Moscow team.
UNICS, who played with an eight-man rotation, apart from the appearance of Mark Tikhonenko for less than two minutes, had nothing to offer. Captain Vyacheslav Zaitsev entered the match very badly: he committed three fouls and made an offensive error when starting an attack in his own half, which meant another two points for the red and blue. And, as noted before, Jalen Reynolds had a very mediocre game. The American added eight points with a percentage of just over 30 (4/13 from the field) and five fouls, which sent him to the bench early.
Anton Kardanakhishvili and Emil Raikovich
Photo: Press service of the VTB United League
Another decisive factor for the military team was its bench. Tony Dzhekiri and Melo Trimble were mainly responsible for the attack (Dzhekiri was also excellent on the rebound), and Samson Ruzhentsev and Anton Kardanakhishvili created additional pressure for Kazan not only in their own half, but also in attack under the shield. In fact, Ruzhentsev has eight rebounds, which is not only the best number of the game, but also of his career in the VTB league.
The army team defeated UNICS with great confidence and ease, without even realizing that they were the defending champions. At first Rajkovic was calm and then proud of his players. Screams and active gestures, in turn, did not help Perasovich. The country’s main matchup today remains CSKA.
After the game, Perasovich admitted that the military team was better and “broke” the game in the first half. The specialist also confirmed that his team could not respond correctly.
Raikovich was the first to note the contribution to the success of Kardanakhishvili and Ruzhentsev themselves.
The video rights belong to the VTB United League. The video can be seen on the league’s YouTube channel.
Is the intrigue killed?
Casper Ware (with ball)
Photo: Press service of the VTB United League
Inexperienced basketball fans may think that after this championship match there is no intrigue, but in reality everything is just beginning. It is worth remembering that last season CSKA only lost twice in the regular season, but in the end they did not even reach the final.
UNICS and CSKA will meet again not only in the second round of the first stage of the regular season, but also, of course, in the second part of the championship. Who knows, maybe we’ll see this same matchup in the playoffs.
At the same time, Zenit St. Petersburg is hot on their heels, having gained momentum and, after a slow start, has already achieved four victories in a row. Enisey, with his new star Xavier Ratan-Maze, will try to make a splash, and Lokomotiv have definitely not forgotten the experience of last season.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS