Tomorrow, on February 17, Tsmoki-Minsk will host Saint Petersburg Zenit within the framework of the VTB United League. The match will take place at the “Minsk-Arena” and starts at 19:00.
Oddly enough, Zenit is one of the youngest members of the VTB United League. The team was formed in the summer of 2014, having received the right to participate in the league and the FIBA Eurocup from Triumph Moscow Region, which passed on. Initially, it was a structural subdivision of the FC Zenit (St. Petersburg), but three years later, was created an independent legal entity, Zenit Basketball Club LLC.
Already in the debut season in the VTB United League, “the Blue-White-Sky Blues” proved that they are a formidable combat unit. In the regular season, Zenit finished fourth, and in the quarterfinals, Zenit gave battle with Nizhny Novgorod in five games, but lost. The team performed well in FIBA Eurocup, where it overpassed two group stages, and in 1/8 finals lost to compatriots from Khimki Moscow Region.
It should be noted that Zenit demonstrates stability in the VTB League: after debut fifth place, in subsequent seasons, it once finished fourth and won bronze medals four times (2016-18, 2021).
In the current season, Zenit St. Petersburg also keeps a high reputation. It occupies the second spot in the table, with 11 wins in 14 rounds, only a point behind UNICS. By the way, Zenit didn’t just defeated the principal rivals from Kazan at home, but crushed them with a score of 97:81. Other favorites of the season were also beat: CSKA (81:68), Lokomotiv-Kuban (106:79). And that’s why defeats from Astana (69:83), Avtodor (74:83) and Parma-Parimatch (69:77) looked not entirely logical.
On Monday, the Zeniters played another match – in Poland, where the Polish Zielona Gora was smashed in pieces – 79:52. The biggest contributors to Zenit’s score were Jordan Loyd (21pts. + 3reb. + 2 ast.), Jordan Mickey (15pts. + 5reb. + 3ast. + 1blk.) Sergey Karasev (11pts. + 2reb. + 2 ast.)
At this stage of the VTB United League, the most effective game in Zenit is showed by:
Alex Poythress – 17eff (12.5 pts. + 5.6reb. + 1.5ast. + 1stl. + 0.5blk.)
Jordan Mickey – 12.9eff (12pts. + 3.9reb. + 3.5ast. + 1stl.)
Billy Baron – 12.2eff (14pts. + 1.9reb. + 2.2ast. + 0.6stl.)
Tyson Carter – 11eff (7.5pts. + 1.5reb. + 4.5ast. + 0.5stl. + 0.5blk.)
On the threshold of the 2019/20 season, a very important event took place for the club: Zenit received a Wild Card to participate in the Euroleague, the main club competition in the Old World. Actually, the debut cannot be called successful – the Blue-White-Sky Blues took 18th place. But the next year the team significantly strengthened the squad and performed much stronger. Having made it way to the playoffs from 8th position, the Russian team got into the quarterfinals with the regular season champion Barcelona, but did not flinch in the battle against the favorite of the pair and gave the Catalans way into the final four only after 5th game.
That success has assigned to Zenit the status of uncompromising rival with character, capable of winning the toughest matches. The team has repeatedly proved that in the current Euroleague. It shares the 4th-5th place with the Greek Olympiacos with 14 wins in 23 matches. Gives lead only to Barcelona, Real Madrid and Milan in tournament’s table indices. And, also, it is higher than other representatives of Russia – CSKA Moscow and UNICS Kazan.
For eight years, not many coaches have changed on Zinit’s bridge. The team was led by Vasily Karasev (2014-18). He was replaced by Spaniard Joan Plaza (2018-20). Finally, exactly two years ago, 49-year-old Xavier Pascual became the head coach.
The bright pages of the coaching biography of the Spanish specialist began to be written in 2008, when Pascual headed Barcelona. Eight years at the head of a super club is a great experience. Then there were two seasons in the Greek Panathinaikos, and now – Zenit. Under his leadership, the teams won many titles and awards: they became the champions of the Euroleague, Spain (4 times), Greece (2), won the Spanish Cup (3), Greece (1), the Spanish Super Cup (4). Seven times Pascual was awarded the title of the best coach of the championships in Spain (4), Greece (2) and Russia. He was recognized as the best coach of the year in the Euroleague.
Last summer, the roster of Zenit has undergone significant changes for various reasons. Kevin Pangos, Will Thomas, Austin Hollins, K.C. Rivers, Tarik Black, Vitaly Fridzon, Dmitry Khvostov, Vladislav Trushkin left St. Petersburg. Accordingly, the roster was replenished by Americans Jordan Loyd, Conner Frankamp, Shabazz Napier, Jordan Mickey, Lithuanian Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Russians Sergey Karasev, Dmitry Kulagin. And at the end of December, 23-yeard-old American defender Tyson Carter, who played for the Greek Lavrio, signed a contract with the club.
Unfortunately, Shabazz Napier was seriously injured in the first official match of the of the season and still cannot cure it. Also, for medical reasons, Lithuanian center Arturas Gudaitis had to be withdrawn from the VTB United League.
Now Xavier Pascual’s the game list looks like this:
Zenit (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
1 Tyson Carter 14.01.1998; 193cm; guard - USA
2 Jordan Loyd 27.07.1993; 197cm; guard – USA
3 Denis Zakharov 06.08.1993; 193cm; guard – Russia
7 Sergey Karasev 26.10.1993; 201cm; forward – Russia
8 Igor Volkhin 30.10.1997; 199cm; forward – Russia
9 Dmitry Kulagin 01.07.1992; 197cm; guard – Russia
12 Billy Baron 11.12.1990; 188cm; guard – USA
14 Anton Pushkov 22.11.1988; 208cm; center – Russia
17 Maksim Karvanen 30.10.1999; 203cm; forward – Russia
19 Mindaugas Kuzminskas 19.10.1989; 206cm; forward – Lithuania
20 Andrey Zubkov – 29.06.1991; 205cm; forward – Russia
22 Alex Poythress – 06.09.1993; 198cm; forward –USA
25 Mateusz Ponitka – 29.08.1993; 198cm; forward – Poland
33 Conner Frankamp 16.07.1995; 185cm; guard – USA
55 Jordan Mickey 09.07.1994; 203cm; forward – USA
Head coach – Xavier Pascual (Spain)