The seventh is not superfluous: UNICS and Zenit brought the semi-final to a denouement

The semifinal series between UNICS and Zenit has reached its maximum distance. After an away win in the sixth match, Kazan equalized the score — 3:3 — and retained their chances of reaching the final of the United League. The decisive game will be held in Kazan, and its winner will compete for the title with CSKA, which previously knocked out Lokomotiv Kuban.

The series returned to Kazan

The UNICS – Zenit series opened with an incredible match, where the two teams scored 34 three-pointers, and with a very high percentage (48.5/50). Dishon Pierre scored 5/5 for the hosts, and Georgy Zhbanov scored 6/8 for the guests. Dmitry Kulagin scored the key shot from behind the arc 9 seconds before the end of regular time. Thanks to this throw, the game went into overtime, where everything was decided by the inspired play of Jalen Reynolds and the same Pierre.

The second match in Kazan was already in favor of Zenit. Johnny Juzang hit several important three—pointers in the second half (8/8 from the game). Vladislav Yemchenko played a great game. The forward line was at its best at both ends of the court (Andrei Martyuk and Andre Roberson were one rebound short of a double-double). At UNICS, Reynolds was injured.

In the Northern Capital, the leader of Kazan played with a bandage on his left leg, and this circumstance greatly affected the team. In the third game of the series with UNICS, the blue-white-blues won the first quarter with a bang (33:14) and did not let anyone doubt their victory. The hero of the third game (as well as the second) was Juzeng (made 9 shots from the game out of 16 attempts), who joined Zenit at the end of February.

After that, Zenit could achieve a second crushing victory in a row. The percentage of three—pointers scored by the hosts was off the charts (Juzeng — 3/3, Dmitry Uzinsky - 2/2), and the guests allowed 12 losses in 20 minutes. But in the third quarter, Kazan fully returned to the game (23:12), and 2 minutes before the end they took the lead (+2). However, in the end, the hosts still took their toll, and here it is especially worth noting Xavier Moon. The most important long-range shot and cool execution of free throws. UNICS tried to put the game into overtime again with the magic of their captain, but Dmitry Kulagin did not drag it in the end this time (3-1 in the series).

UNICS had no room for error, and before the fifth match it became known that Pierre would not play again this season. However, in the absence of their key heavy forward, Kazan did not give up. Velimir Perasovich's team confidently took the second half (Marcus Bingham and Alexey Shved played a great match), and the series moved back to St. Petersburg.

Before the sixth match, it became known that Juzenga would not be able to help the hosts, and UNICS started the match with a 10:0 surge. Zenit's players came to their senses after a timeout, reducing the score to a minimum before the break (35:37). In the third quarter, the visitors again broke away by 10 points, but the blue-white-blues once again organized a successful chase. In the end, it came to a nervous ending with Bingham's decisive three-pointer. Kazan wins back from 1-3. Previously, only one team managed to do this — Zenit in the final series of the 2021/22 season with CSKA.

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Four CSKA victories

Another semifinal series opened with a sensational victory for Loko. Krasnodar, who lost all six matches to the Army team during the season, could have won in regular time, but Patrick Miller's shot in the final possession did not reach the goal. This did not upset the guests, who started overtime with a 6-0 lead and continued to play from a position of strength after the Army timeout (14:5 in the fifth minute). Patrick Miller and Vince Hunter had a great match (30 points between them), Alain Hadzhibegovic had a double-double (20+12), but Vsevolod Ishchenko was especially cool. (19+3+4+3).

Nikita Kurbanov was the best at CSKA (12+11), but Kasper Ware and Melo Trimble showed a weak percentage of sales. But the leaders of the Muscovites were able to rehabilitate themselves in the second game (22 points from Melo, 13 from Kasper), which was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the victory in the Euroleague Final Four in Prague in 2006. Most of the gold team of the 2005/06 season took part in the celebration, including Theodoros Papaloukas, Matjaz Smodis, the Pashutin brothers, Sergei Panov and Ettore Messina.

In front of the titled Italian coach and his legends, the Army team outplayed Tomislav Tomovich's team (84:69) and went to Krasnodar in a good mood. In the third game, the defending champions dominated. Ware scored 30+ points for the second time this season (he had the best game in points scored in the playoffs and updated the record for the best performance in the season), and the hosts shot only six three-pointers per match (1/6).

In the match at number four, the Loko players stopped Ware (11 points). However, so does Trimble (13). However, this time Ishchenko and Co. were let down by a weak implementation. Especially from the penalty line (12/21). At some point, Jeremiah Martin and Vince Hunter ran out of energy. CSKA always has backup options if the game does not go to the leaders. Anton Astapkovic and Antonius Cleveland performed well that evening at crucial moments.

The fifth game of the series took place in Moscow. By the break, the hosts had a comfortable advantage (+19) and only in the end made their fans a little nervous. Even before the start of the series, it was clear that this Krasnodar roster would not be able to impose a CSKA fight on the distance. And so it turned out. In the history of the United League, the Army team only failed to reach the finals once — Loko was the offender of CSKA in the 2022/23 semifinals. For the last three years, Krasnodar has not been able to overcome the 1/2 finals barrier.