Finals Time

CSKA Moscow faces UNICS Kazan in the VTB United League playoff finals.

Who:
CSKA, 2014-15 VTB United League champions, 2015-16 Euroleague champions
vs.
UNICS, 2014-15 VTB United League quarterfinalists

Time & Location:
Game 1. USH CSKA, Moscow. 7:00 PM (7:00 PM MSK), June 1, 2016
Game 2. USH CSKA, Moscow. 7:30 PM (7:30 PM MSK), June 3, 2016
Game 3. Basket Hall, Kazan. 7:00 PM (7:00 PM MSK), June 6, 2016
Game 4. Basket Hall, Kazan. 7:00 PM (7:00 PM MSK), June 8, 2016 (if necessary)
Game 5. USH CSKA, Moscow. June 11, 2016 (if necessary)

TV:
Match TV (Russia), Match! Nash sport (Russia), United League TV

Regular Season:
CSKA: 1st place (28-2)
UNICS: 2nd place (25-5)

Face To Face
CSKA and UNICS have a long history, clashing frequently in the postseason. But the Red-Blues enjoy a big lead in the all-time series, 67-16.

The two clubs have met 11 times in the VTB United League (CSKA is 10-1). The most recent meeting in the postseason came in 2014, when the Army Men swept Kazan in three hard-fought games (92-90, 65-61, 92-86). Last season, CSKA once again came out on top, defeating UNICS twice during the regular season. Dimitris Itoudis's club scored a 75-51 victory at home and a nailbiting 75-73 win in Kazan.

CSKA also enjoyed a win in the first meeting of the 2015-16 campaign. The Army Men dominated from start to finish, leading by as much as 25 in the 2nd quarter. The visitors cut the deficit to 11 in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough (81-70). The March meeting in Kazan also went to CSKA. Leading by 17 in the 1st quarter, the visitors held on for a 100-89 win.

Looking Back

Face To Face
CSKA and UNICS have a long history, clashing frequently in the postseason. But the Red-Blues enjoy a big lead in the all-time series, 67-16.

The two clubs have met 11 times in the VTB United League (CSKA is 10-1). The most recent meeting in the postseason came in 2014, when the Army Men swept Kazan in three hard-fought games (92-90, 65-61, 92-86). Last season, CSKA once again came out on top, defeating UNICS twice during the regular season. Dimitris Itoudis's club scored a 75-51 victory at home and a nailbiting 75-73 win in Kazan.

CSKA also enjoyed a win in the first meeting of the 2015-16 campaign. The Army Men dominated from start to finish, leading by as much as 25 in the 2nd quarter. The visitors cut the deficit to 11 in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough (81-70). The March meeting in Kazan also went to CSKA. Leading by 17 in the 1st quarter, the visitors held on for a 100-89 win.

Intrigue
The season is coming to a close as only two teams remain in the race for the championship. The top two teams in the regular season--CSKA and UNICS--will duke it out for the VTB United League title.

The Army club has already picked up championships in the Euroleague as well as the youth and junior leagues. A victory in the VTB United League would be the club's 6th and make the 2015-16 campaign one of the best in team history. UNICS last played in the league finals in 2012, losing to CSKA in the championship game. The White-Greens have not played in a championship series since 2007, when they were swept by CSKA in the Superleague A finals. Since then, Kazan has picked up four bronze medals. Now the club tries once more to end its championship drought.

After winning the Euroleague in mid-May, CSKA has had time to recover and regain its rhythm, sweeping Khimki in the semifinals, 3-0. Not surprisingly, Itoudis's club will be a heavy favorite against UNICS.

Kazan is coming off an exhausting five-game series with Zenit. Having guaranteed a spot in the 2016-17 Euroleague, UNICS will have little to no pressure and can try to spring the upset.

Question
What do UNICS and Pashutin need to do to break through against CSKA?

Kazan has struggled for years against the Army Men. Evgeny Pashutin became the 2nd coach in league history to win 100 games this season, but rarely comes out on top against CSKA. Throughout his coaching career, the Sochi native has had little success against the club where he once played and coached. As noted above, UNICS has not fared any better, posting a 1-10 mark in the league with the only victory coming in January 2011. The Euroleague champions twice defeated Kazan by 11 points this season, surging to big first-half leads on both occasions. Clearly, CSKA is a very uncomfortable opponent for both Kazan and its head coach and most VTB United League fans expect Moscow's dominance to continue in the 2016 finals. It's going to take a colossal effort for Pashutin and co. to reverse that trend.

Duel
Milos Teodosic and Nando De Colo (CSKA) vs. Quino Colom and Keith Langford (UNICS).

The Army Men's super guard duo of Teodosic and De Colo put on a show against Khimki's duo of Tyrese Rice and Alexey Shved in the semifinals. While the 2016 Euroleague and Final Four MVP struggled a bit to get going, Teodosic wasted no time, performing at a high level in all three games.

The Army Men duo can establish itself as Europe's top backcourt once and for all by outdueling UNICS leaders Colom and Langford. The Spanish-American combo led Kazan to a series win against Zenit with Colom being named semifinal MVP. They will try to do it again in the biggest series of the year. The finals will almost certainly come down to this duel between elite guards.

X-Factor
The Army Men's injuries, Cory Higgins's health and the Langford factor.

CSKA will be without Joel Freeland and Nikita Kurbanov, who both underwent surgery. The Army Men's fans also have to be concerned about Higgins, who missed the entire series vs. Khimki. The biggest issue is that Kurbanov and Higgins were supposed to tag-team UNICS sniper Keith Langford on defense. Without their top two defensive stoppers, the Red-Blues may have trouble containing the explosive Kazan guard.

Interesting Facts
- UNICS has two ex-Army Men on the roster: Anton Ponkrashov (2006-10, 2011-13) and Valery Likhodei (2003-04). Nikita Kurbanov played for UNICS in the 2013-14 season.

- CSKA (28-2) and UNICS (25-5) were the top two teams during the regular season.

- CSKA won both regular season games against UNICS by 11 points. The Army Men have won eight straight against Kazan. UNICS's last win dates back to 2011. The Tatar club has yet to defeat CSKA in the postseason.

- Kostas Kaimakoglou played for Panathinaikos from 2010-12 under current CSKA coaches Dimitris Itoudis and Andreas Pistiolis.

Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
- The final series awaits us and we are approaching it with the proper concentration, motivation and desire. We met twice in the regular season, but the game can go differently in the playoffs. Kazan played well during the season and deserves to be in the finals. We need the support of the fans in the final stage of the season. I know they understand how important this series is for us.

UNICS head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
- Right now we are focusing on breaking down our opponent's strategy and working on shooting drills. We don't want to wear out the guys. CSKA is very strong on defense. The Army Men defend very aggressively and do an incredible job of switching. Plus, they have the versatile Hines, though it's not right to single anyone out: Moscow is strong because of its teamwork. That's why we will focus on defense. It's obvious that scoring against CSKA is not easy. But if we can slow down the Army Men's offense, like we did against Zenit in Game 5, it will be a real matchup. Yes, they have De Colo, Teodosic and anybody on their roster poses a threat, but we will try. Plus, of course, we need to be smart on the attack. We can't get into a shootout. We have to control the tempo.

Prediction
- With all due respect to Kazan, I don't think the finals will last long, - says 1982 world champion and former CSKA and UNICS head coach, Stanislav Eremin. - Getting even one win would be a good result for UNICS. Most likely, it will be secured in Kazan, or the fans will see a competitive battle in Game 3 with the Army Men coming out on top in the end.

Evgeny Pashutin's only advantage is that CSKA had a long break after Khimki. The lack of games might knock Dimitris Itoudis's men out of rhythm and allow Kazan to make it a series.

Team Stats:

Player Stats: