MBA-MAI vs Zenit. Preview

As usual, the Blue-White-Sky Blues held a pre-match training session and hit the road — tomorrow Dejan Radonjić's team will play against MBA-MAI in Moscow. This time, Zenit traveled to the capital by train.

The morning practice ended on a pleasant note: the team warmly congratulated St. Petersburg's new player, Johnny Juzang, who turned 25 today, on his birthday.

Opponent

The Moscow team is approaching tomorrow's game in excellent spirits. On Sunday, MBA-MAI won the Russian Cup for the first time in their history; the Final Four took place in Vladivostok. After defeating CSKA-2 in the semifinals (85:77), Vasiliy Karasev's team snatched a hard-fought victory in the final match against Pari Nizhny Novgorod with a tense finish — 68:67.

In the VTB United League, the capital's club is in 7th place, with 14 wins in 31 games. After the break in the regular season, MBA-MAI has played two home games: after beating BETCITY PARMA (78:66), they suffered a heavy loss to UNICS (56:89). Now Vasiliy Karasev's team is preparing to host Zenit, now holding the status of national Cup winners.

Head-to-head

This will be the fourth head-to-head meeting between our teams this season, and all previous ones were won by the Blue-White-Sky Blues. The overall statistics also favor St. Petersburg — 15-2.

Direct speech

Zenit head coach Dejan Radonjić shared his thoughts before the match in Moscow:

First of all, congrats to MBA-MAI for the Russian Cup’s trophy. About the game — we need to be ready to play good enough defensively, offensively. Most of the game to be very focused, to put enough energy and we will try to control the rhythm of the game.

Who. Where. When.

Opponent: MBA-MAI

Location: Basket Hall, Moscow

Date: March 18, 19:00 (St. Petersburg time)

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