Zenit at the SuperCup. Preview

The main Blue-White-Sky Blues squad has already arrived in Belgrade and is actively preparing for the VTB United League SuperCup, which will take place on September 24–25 in a Final Four format. Here’s everything you need to know about the preseason tournament kicking off in the Serbian capital tomorrow.

Zenit

A two-time SuperCup winner, last year the team had to settle for bronze and is determined to make up for that injustice. The updated St. Petersburg side, now with a new coaching staff, has had a busy preseason: three friendly matches at training camp in Turkey, a victory at the home Kondrashin and Belov Cup, as well as a tough test against EuroLeague participant Maccabi Tel Aviv in Belgrade, which gave plenty of food for thought. The final match before the SuperCup was against Uralmash, ending in a confident win. The VTB United League SuperCup will be Zenit’s last serious test ahead of the 2025/26 season.

Opponents

In the first semifinal, two familiar teams will face off — CSKA and Crvena Zvezda. The Moscow team enter the tournament as reigning SuperCup holders and VTB League champions. Despite losing Aleksa Avramoviс and Amath M'Baye in the offseason, the red-blues remain a formidable opponent with a very experienced and deep roster. Like Zenit, CSKA had a productive preseason, including a trip to the Emirates for a friendly tournament, where they fell to Bosna (89:90) but earned wins over Besiktas (98:88) and Dubai (98:97).

Crvena Zvezda enjoys the privilege of being the tournament host. The Serbian side, which only made its SuperCup debut last year, will now play at home. Despite major roster changes, the sixth man — Belgrade fans — hasn’t gone anywhere, and they will undoubtedly drive their team forward. One can be sure that the support of CSKA’s brothers from Partizan will also be strong, so the pre-game atmosphere before Zenit’s match promises to be fiery. We remember last year’s bronze-medal clash with Zvezda well and wouldn’t mind meeting an old acquaintance, Codi Miller-McIntyre, again — but this time in the final.

Finally, there’s Dubai — Zenit’s semifinal opponent. The debutant of the tournament, who will also make their EuroLeague debut this season, is a club founded only a year ago and still a largely unknown quantity on the European basketball scene. But St. Petersburg fans will certainly recognize some faces. Alongside the aforementioned Avramovic, there’s also last season’s VTB League regular season MVP and former Zenit leader, Dwayne Bacon. Meeting an old teammate promises to be very intriguing.

Direct speech

Zenit head coach Aleksander Sekulic ahead of the semifinal against Dubai:

We prepare all the things we want to play against them, the way we want to defend them is going to be very important. They have a couple of guys, they can score easily. Basically we want to create even better team chemistry we have, to set up the roles and to see on what level we are, how good we are against the best teams and what are the things we need to improve.

Zenit forward Andrey Vorontsevich on the tournament rivals:

This is the very top European level, there’s no other way to put it. How can we win? Only through team play. Any opponent is within our reach if we stay focused on ball movement, open shots, drives, and, of course, if we start from solid defense.