On January 11, the MINSK men's team will play against Zenit in St. Petersburg. Earlier in the season, Minsk residents met Javier Pascual's team on the home court. About how things have been going with the opponent since the last meeting, in our preview.
Season 2023/24
Approaching the end of the first stage of the regular season of the VTB United League, Zenit closes the top three in the standings.
Now the team has 14 wins in 20 matches. Moreover, two defeats have occurred in the last five games: on the road against CSKA (89:104) and at home against Loko (73:93).
Xavier Pascual's wards began the new year 2024 with a victory over PARMA in the VTB Championship and over Tambov in the 1/8 finals of the Russian Cup with a difference of 42 points. Next, Zenit will face Samara in the quarterfinals in the Russian Cup. Now the white-blues are once again focusing on the games of the VTB United League and will hold 6 more matches of the first stage in the next month.
Leaders
Thomas Erteul has the best assists in the League (8.5 on average per game), and the defender also averages 13.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 26 and a half minutes on the court.
Another legionnaire Trent Fraser in the previous 19 matches showed average statistics of 14.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists in 26 and a half minutes on the floor.
Alexey Sukhovetsky, Acting head coach of MINSK: “We are preparing for a very serious opponent, who is now actively recovering injured players, so their roster is becoming even stronger and more powerful. The team from St. Petersburg plays a very beautiful attacking basketball with many different exits and completions. Our task, and in the training process we do it, is to try to make it as difficult as possible for them to act in these areas. We will try to break their attack as much as possible. We are all set for the upcoming match. The only thing is that there is only one training session in Minsk between away matches, there is not much time for recovery, but this factor does not affect the overall mood and readiness of the team.”
The roster of the opponent
Zenit, St. Petersburg
Guards
0. Trent Fraser, 08.09.1998, 188 cm, USA,
5. Timofey Gerasimov, 05.15.1997, 197 cm, Russia,
11. Georgy Zhbanov, 10.10.1997, 197 cm, Russia,
13. Thomas Ertel, 04.10.1989, 189 cm, France,
16. Konstantin Shevchuk, 11.01.2000, 188 cm, Russia,
24. Kyle Kurich, 08.25.1989, 193 cm, USA.
Forwards
7. Sergey Karasev, 26.10.1993, 201 cm, Russia,
8. Igor Volkhin, 10.30.1997, 199 cm, Russia,
17. Pavel Zemsky, 06.25.2004, 202 cm, Russia,
18. Adrien Moermann, 08.07.1988, 203 cm, France,
20. Andrey Zubkov, 06.29.1991, 206 cm, Russia,
21. Sergey Toropov, 5.10.1989, 205 cm, Russia.
Centers
12. Artyom Klimenko, 10.01.1994, 214 cm, Russia,
14. Boyan Dublevic, 24.10.1991, 205 cm, Montenegro,
32. Vince Hunter, 08/05/1994, 203 cm, USA.
The head coach is Xavier Pascual, Spain.
The match starts at 19:30. The broadcast of the game will be available on the VTB United League website, as well as on Belarus 5. The Internet”.