The day before, UNICS Kazan lost its 22-point lead over Lokomotiv-Kuban and after the defeat fell to third place in the VTB United League standings.
In the last two weeks, Velimir Perasovic’s team lost two important matches against direct rivals in the fight for the top six.
“Championship” prepared material about how the team has changed after the championship and whether the fans of the Kazan club should sound the alarm.
Is the euphoria of the championship still going on?
BC UNICS player Marcos Knight
Photo: Press service of the VTB United League
In May, UNICS became champions of the VTB United League for the first time in its history. Before this, the club had not managed to become champions of Russia, victories came only in the national cup, as well as in European cups. The Kazan team was almost always among the favorites, but, as a rule, remained in the shadow of CSKA Moscow.
All successes in the history of the team at the moment are directly related to the permanent president, Evgeny Bogachev, who began to lead the club in 1998 on a voluntary basis. Before that, he was president of the National Bank of Tatarstan.
Bogachev is a shining example of what a leader should be. He is with the team as much as he can, even in preseason games, which don’t decide anything.
UNICS has always acted as a “proper” club: a clear system, absence of scandals, pragmatism and the list goes on. Therefore, the long-awaited championship was very important and valuable not only for Bogachev, but also for the entire Republic.
Evgeny Bogachev
President of UNICS
“There was a feeling of deep moral satisfaction. This is happiness! In fact, if you want to be happy for a day, get drunk, if you want to be happy for a month, get drunk. And if you want happiness all your life, then you need to have many friends and moments like these. This is happiness.”
In the summer, the Kazan team had to retain its main team at all costs to defend the title, and it almost succeeded. Yes, several important players left the team, in particular Daryl Macon, Vince Hunter, Georgiy Zhbanov, but most importantly, the contracts of Nenad Dimitrijevic, Marcos Knight, Jalen Reynolds, Louis Laberie and, of course, that of the coach were extended Velimir Perasovic. . In addition, the team has been strengthened, in particular with Dmitry Kulagin, Ismael Bako and Eric Green. You can definitely work with this lineup and really defend the title. It is not a fact that the team has become stronger, but it has certainly not weakened.
Season as defending champion
BC UNICS coaching staff
Photo: Press service of the VTB United League
The preseason passed for fans with mixed feelings. The Khairetdinov Cup was won in Nizhny Novgorod, but in St. Petersburg the team lost in the final to the Kondrashin and Belov Cup. And in the VTB United League Super Cup things were going very badly: two defeats in three games and only seventh and penultimate place.
From the beginning of the regular season, UNICS decided to reassure their fans: they won confident victories over Lokomotiv, Minsk and Uralmash, and the interactions in the game seemed more than convincing. Then there was an unexpected defeat in Samara, and the Kazan team lost an unusual 104 points. The last time this happened to them was more than six months ago in the game against Zenit. After that, in six meetings, there were five more victories, including the same Zenit away from home, and UNICS came to the match against CSKA, the championship leader, in second place with two defeats.
In the match against the army team, Perasovich’s team played below its capabilities and lost almost without a fight.
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Then came a difficult victory over MBA, and then the same match against Loko, in which the Kazan team lost its 22-point lead.
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Thriller in Krasnodar. Loko won 22 points against UNICS and heroically defeated the champion
However, the main message is that the defending champion lost two important matches in a row, and this happened for a good reason.
Is this a serious sign and should I be worried?
BC UNICS players Ismael Bako (left) and Eric Green
Photo: Press service of the VTB United League
It can’t be said that these defeats have a strong effect on anything, but they still give food for thought. In the matches against CSKA and Lokomotiv the Kazan front line completely failed, although the presence of good big men is UNICS’ calling card. Yes, there are Dimitrievich and Knight, but, as practice has shown, if the Kazan team does not have everything clear and stable ahead, it is far from a fact that the defenders will be able to bring victory. In the same game with Loko, Nenad Dimitrievich in the last quarter, when the Krasnodar team was beginning to catch up with UNICS, he lost the ball several times and made inaccurate shots. Therefore, whatever they say, the current champion depends a lot on the good play of the greats.
There is still a lot of time before the start of the playoffs, there is no doubt about the experience of Velimir Perasovic, who will undoubtedly have to find the keys to prepare his team, and in particular the “big ones”, for a match with direct competitors next time. In addition, the Kazan team sometimes lacks support from the bench, so there are many problems that the Croatian specialist must solve. UNICS fans have no reason to worry yet, but it certainly won’t be easy.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS