UNICS vs Zenit. Preview

Zenit have flown to Kazan, where tomorrow, December 20, Aleksander Sekulic’s team will play its final VTB United League game of 2025. The meeting with UNICS will take place as part of Round 17 of the regular season and promises to be truly hot, despite the cold outside.

Opponent

The Kazan side continue to occupy leading positions in the tournament, having stumbled only twice so far this season. Velimir Perasovic’s team suffered its first loss back in late October away to CSKA. However, UNICS managed to get revenge fairly soon on their home court with a narrow 76:75 win. The decisive moment in that game came from accurate free throws by Alexey Shved, who joined the greens in early November. A clutch victory allowed the Kazan team to return to first place, though only briefly. Just before the international break, UNICS had an unsuccessful trip to Perm and now share the lead with the Moscow side, trailing them on points differential.

On their home court, the opponent will, as always, put up maximum resistance. UNICS have not lost at home for more than a year — 21 consecutive games. An even greater threat is the duo of Marcus Bingham and Jalen Reynolds. They have played in every regular-season game this year and are averaging 17.9 points per game.

However, while the Blue-White-Sky Blues have almost overcome their injury issues and strengthened the roster with two new players, the hosts continue to face difficulties: C.J. Bryce is recovering from an injury, while the condition of Mikhail Belenitsky and Paris Lee remains in doubt.

Head-to-head

This season, Zenit have yet to beat the Kazan team. Both games in Saint Petersburg — in the VTB United League and in the WINLINE Basket Cup — ended in UNICS victories. Overall, if we look only at the VTB League, the greens also lead this matchup — 25-21.

Direct speech

Zenit head coach Aleksander Sekulic — ahead of the game in Kazan:

We lost them two times already. They were more than successful in those two games. We need to be ready for 40 minutes fight, because they play super aggressive defense. A lot of contact, a lot of physicality. It is important for us not to lose our way playing against them. Stay focused, stick to the game plan and ideas we have in defense and offense.

Who. Where. When.

Opponent: UNICS

Location: Basket Hall, Kazan

Date: December 20, 15:00 St. Petersburg time

Broadcast: Okko Sport, Match TV, Match! Igra, VTB United League website, VK Video