The cup is not for the champion – Newspaper Kommersant No. 46 (7491) of 03/20/2023
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“Nizhny Novgorod” for the first time in its history became the owner of the Russian Basketball Cup. The team of Zoran Lukich, who is also the head coach of the Russian national team, on Sunday in the final match beat the current champion of the VTB United League Zenit, moreover, on his site, with a score of 84:72.
In St. Petersburg this weekend was the “Final Four” of the Cup of Russia. The most notable difference from previous draws was that the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF) allowed teams to use legionnaires in matches. Not everyone, only two foreigners can be included in the application, but even this allowed to significantly improve the quality of basketball. Still, if we talk, for example, about the top teams of the VTB United League (clubs from leagues with a lower rank also played in the Russian Cup), then they are initially built with a strong reliance on a foreign component, and its forced withdrawal forces coaches to come up with something on the go . And the absence of legionnaires has a negative effect on spectator interest. By the way, at the Sibur Arena, which hosted the Final Four, there was no need to complain about the lack of spectator interest. The organizers of the Winline Cup of Russia have repeatedly declared their desire to make it a high-class tournament, and it looks like they are succeeding.
Three teams from the VTB United League (Zenit, MBA and Nizhny Novgorod) and one from the Superleague Khimki made it to the Final Four this season. In terms of level, this is far from the club that became the champion of the VTB United League in 2011 (Khimki residents were forced to refuse to participate in it in 2021 due to financial problems), plus it steadily made its way to the Euroleague. But in relation to the Final Four, Khimki did not spoil the picture at all, although they dropped out of the fight for the trophy already in the semifinals, losing to Nizhny Novgorod. In the second semi-final pair, Zenit barely coped with the MBA.
The finalists have already met four times this season. In three cases, Zenit won and was considered the obvious favorite of the decisive match – after all, the current champion of the VTB United League, which was supported by the stands. But with the realization of the status of the favorite among the wards of Xavi Pascual, somehow it didn’t work right away. The long entry of the Petersburgers into the rhythm of the game led to the fact that Nizhny Novgorod, due to both speed and permanent hard pressure throughout the court, ran ahead. The breakaway of the guests by the end of the first quarter exceeded 10 points, which forced Pascual to grab timeouts and rule the team’s game. He succeeded, but the reserve of vivacity for the Zenit players after suggestions from the coach was still not enough for a short time. But the mentor of Nizhny Novgorod (he is also the head coach of the Russian national team) Zoran Lukic managed to keep the rhythm taken better. It’s hard to say whether Lukich relied on long-range attacks in advance or it just happened, but it was the three-pointers from Nizhny Novgorod that gave Zenit a lot of problems. A characteristic episode was in the middle of the second quarter: Zenit almost closed the gap and seemed ready to intercept the threads of the game, but was defeated by three consecutive long-range hits by Evgeny Baburin and Jermain Love. But if we talk about sniper shots, then Ivan Strebkov was out of competition here – five hits out of seven attempts. In total, the Nizhny Novgorod team made 12 out of 24 long-range shots. The Zenith score is 5 out of 21.
And yet there was a moment when it seemed that Zenit would still fight for the victory. In the middle of the third quarter, another surge in the hosts’ activity ended with an accurate throw by Trent Frazier (with 28 points the most productive player of the meeting), and Zenit took the lead (49:48). First time in a match. It lasted for several seconds: Baburin, Love and Strebkov immediately created a 10:0 breakthrough, and Zenit never had a chance to lead again. Guests confidently brought the match to victory with a score of 84:72.
For Nizhny Novgorod, it has become, without exaggeration, historical. Nizhny Novgorod has previously reached the final of the Russian Cup three times (2011, 2018, 2019), but each time they lost. And in general, there were no trophies of this level on the team’s account yet. The most she achieved was victory in the lower leagues, plus in 2014 she became the second in the VTB United League.
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