Astana vs Zenit. Preview

The St. Petersburgers have an away game ahead, which will be first match in the VTB United League this weekend. Xavi Pascual's team is travelling to Kazakhstan, where they will face the biggest underdog of the regular season.

Context

It can not be said that things are going well for Astana. Our opponent has managed to play one more game (9), but has not yet tasted victory in the new season and is in last place in the standings.

So far, Astana stands out for the wrong reasons: they conceded 127 points in their game against Lokomotiv, the fifth-highest in league history (incidentally, they also hold the second, third, and fourth spots in this negative record). They have the league’s lowest average points per game (63.8) and the second-lowest shooting percentage at 39.4%.

This summer’s transfer campaign was promising, though. The Russian addition of Danila Pokhodiaev, Andrey Desyatnikov and Grigory Motovilov added depth to Fotios Takianos' squad, who remains as head coach. Although last season’s key players Royce Hamm and Karvel Anderson moved on to Parma and Lokomotiv Kuban, respectively, newcomers like forward Daniel Utomi (12.9 PPG) and guard T.J. Starks (15.7 PPG) have proven capable replacements in scoring. Most importantly, Astana retained their star, Markell Johnson, who has shone in the early rounds.

Currently, Johnson is the league’s top scorer, averaging 24.6 points over five games in 31 minutes on the court. Tomorrow’s match promises an exciting duel, with Zenit’s own scoring leader, forward Dwayne Bacon, averaging 17.3 points per game.

Connections

Grigory Motovilov joined Astana only this season, but he began his basketball journey in Zenit’s system, playing for both the youth and farm teams. In the 2015/16 season, Grigory appeared in 12 VTB League games with Zenit’s main roster.

Andrey Desyatnikov also arrived in St. Petersburg when the Triumph team relocated to the city. The center spent five years with Zenit before moving on.

Head-to-head

The head-to-head record between St. Petersburg and Astana stands at 19 games. Zenit holds a solid lead with 14 wins versus Astana’s 5. The last time Astana triumphed was over three years ago, on October 4, 2021, when Zenit played at home.

Quotes

Zenit’s head coach Xavi Pascual shared his thoughts ahead of the trip to Kazakhstan:

It's going to be a long trip and also the game is going to be in the morning. We need to be prepared for this. We should immediately have the connection for the game. And we hope to play a good game in both parts of the court and to improve offensively and defensively as must be in this part of the season.

Who. Where. When. 

Opponent: Astana

Location: «Jekpe-jek», Astana

Date: October 26, 13:00 St. Petersburg time

Broadcast: VTB League website, Okko Sport, Start