A given, incontrovertible, to start: since 2001, there is only one Euroleague organized by clubs and no longer by FIBA the trophy was won only by sports clubs that have a leading football section. Too much to be a coincidence, especially if we consider that in these twenty years the ‘independent’ finalists there were only four: power strength e Treviso, which also had other sports sections but of the same or lower level, Baskonia ed Ephesus. In this panorama, in which there no longer seems to be room for the aspirations of those who dedicate themselves primarily to basketball, a curious case arises: Zenit St. Petersburg. It is not, as in the case of Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow or Maccabi Tel-Aviv, a section with its own winning tradition. It isn’t even like Panathinaikos, Olympiacos or much more recently Fenerbahçe, who have ridden the growth of basketball in their own country.
Zenit St. Petersburg: excursus
Will Thomas in action.
Zenit was simply born at the table. In the beginning, in the 2003 was born as Dynamo Moscow Region, located in Lyubertsy, near the Russian capital. Four years later it became the Triumph, keeping in the annals what the team had achieved with the previous denomination. In 2014, after the defeat against Reggio Emilia in the Eurochallenge, the team was relocated under the wing of Zenit St. Petersburg, who made it own basketball section. Not surprisingly, an NBA-style operation of this kind: despite the… historical differences that have opposed their respective countries, Russia and the United States have similar dynamics. In fact, we are dealing with two continent-nations capable of shifting enormous resources at the political and economic level. Once it has become a market economy, Russia actually has, in some ways, adapted some US strategies on its territory, and this is only a marginal example.
Duty excursus in the football field: ‘marginal’ in a relative sense, if you think about the impact that Zenit St. Petersburg can have in the national framework, creating considerable profits. A team that enjoys the support of the entire city, as opposed to the capital which has several teams to divide between. The most significant person bridging these two places is none other than Vladimir Putin, a Petersburger by birth but who, ça va sans dire, ‘works’ in Moscow. In the years of the premier and later onthe first term the president still in office often showed up at the stadium of his hometown team, and that since then towards Zenit he has obtained the resources to live up to his name and touch the apex is therefore not entirely inexplicable, to put it mildly . The multinational in 2005 Gazprom intervened by acquiring 95% of the capital, and in turn managing to involve important economic realities such as Nissan, MegaFon e Rossiya Airlines. The Zenit succeededalso a diversificare the prits offer, launching itself into the field of media, catering and… well, even basketball. They have played in the ranks of the basketball team Gal Mekel, Stefan Markovic, Janis Timma e Kyle Landry, just to name a few known. The first few years after the move saw often colorless seasons. At some point, after the sexten of Vasily Karasev come coach, the management has decided to give itself an international dimension.
The philosophy of the game
Two Catalans arrived on the Petersburg bench: first Joan Plaza then, from 2020, Xavi Pascual. The latter is a very special case. In 2016 the relationship with Barcelona, his alma mater, was interrupted who had been driving as head coach from the same year in which Pep Guardiola had taken possession of the football section. Blaugrana executives thought they were starting a new round of victories, but it did not, since there was one pinwheel of technicians who brought neither stability nor titles, always waiting to see what he will do Conversation Jasikevicius. For his part, Pascual brought Panathinaiko as a dowrys two titles, but it was defenestrated for a tourbillon closely related to the contemporary one that was taking place in Catalonia.
Pascual is thus sheltered in Russia, where he can once again prove his mastery. There defence it has always been his trademark: the mantra, at Zenith, is the protection of the small area, with attention always directed towards the position of the ball, staying half for to intervene in case of raid, collapsing on the indenter not to let him find space and force him to one difficult discharge. Then there is always a Help ready when an opponent has possession inside the arc, help that can come from the closest partner on the same side or on the opposite side. On the pick and roll centrale and doubles leaving the roll to whoever protects the area e baptizing a shooter, while on the side one remains on own man.
In attack Pango gives rhythm, and two-player games are the main weapon, also thanks to two long pieces of furniture good to be found in areas like Poythress and Gudaitis, and in the corners shooters stationed for eventual discharge. If superiority is not created, a second block arrives from an outside, while the long one is launched towards the basket. To get the defense moving e create passages the provision with four men on the perimeter and a single big man has the function of moving the defense, as does the side pick and roll with cut from the weak side of an outside, usually Ponitka, a cut that can also occur on the central two-player game. Alternatively, with the play ball in hand in tip are also provided two blocks in the lower post for the exit of two shooters or a double in the low post for a single external.
In general, Zenit is a polymorphic team. The presence of Ponitka, one scorer but also able to activate the longs, or Poythress that in high post can he redistribute ball O stick the iron makes the Russians an opponent who can find the way to the basket in many different ways. One of the reasons why he is currently traveling at full power, applying to be aother sports club able to have their say in the Euroleague.
