CSKA "took away" UNICS: what happened to Perasovic in the first match of the final in Moscow

      No chances: why UNICS was decisively "burned" by CSKA

      Ovechkin. Shipachev. Giner

      The season finale in any sport, especially in such a cult and attended one as basketball, could not fail to attract the attention of so-called celebrities. For example, the president of the football CSKA, Evgeny Giner, was happily chatting with the boss of the basketball army, Andrey Vatutin. But all of this was just the beginning until Alexander Ovechkin appeared in the hall with his friend Vitaly Fridzon. The NHL's top scorer was literally in high demand that evening – he was called to give a brief interview for the channel, and little fans approached him for autographs right during the match. By the way, Ovechkin did not refuse anyone. Moreover, right before the match, the legendary hockey player presented the award for the best player of the regular season to Trimble Melo. Vadim Shipachev was also in the stands – however, his TV camera could not catch him.

      "What did we score from long distance? Nothing."

      It all started for the guys from Kazan as well as it could – with a score of 0:8. Here, the "three-pointer" from Kulagin Jr. went in, and CSKA seemed to not know what to do. Andreas Pistiolis, seeing such a disheartening picture, called a timeout and tried to reason with his guys. In the early minutes, UNICS was good on defense. During this period, Reynolds appeared on the court – a classic substitution by Perasovic. Next came Alexey Shved. If you remember, after the seventh match against Zenit, the Belgorod player had problems with his meniscus – apparently, everything was fine. Meanwhile, Melo appeared on the opponent's side, although also "by concept." Unfortunately for the Kazan giant, this turned out to be a bad sign – first, Trimble casually laid the ball in from long distance, to which Shved responded. Overall, the first quarter ended in a tie – 23:23. And if you look at the statistics, the army team was better in "threes" – 71 to 50 percent. From the average, UNICS had 12 to 25 percent. And in rebounds, Perasovic's guys were more interesting – 9 to 11. But all this equality evaporated with the start of the second quarter. First of all, the Kazan players accumulated too many personal fouls: Zakharov, Reynolds, Bingham, Shved – three each. As a result, the coaching staff had to literally "hide" them on the bench. Perasovic did not hold back his emotions during the timeout. He saw that CSKA had better ball movement, while his guys were struggling to make plays.

      "What did we score from long distance? Nothing. Maybe it makes sense to play differently? For example, involve the 'big guys,'" Perasovic reasoned. Melo was "having fun" for the red-blues – by the middle of the second quarter, he had already scored half of all team points in this match – 23 in the first half. And 26 total for the match. In general, the Moscow team confidently took the first half – 48:33.

      Faith in a miracle was there – but there were no "tools" to make it happen.

      UNICS fans, more than anyone else, know that the team is capable of much, especially when the game is on. This was the case, for example, in one of the semifinal matches against Zenit, when they came back from a 13-point deficit after halftime. But this is a different story, a different caliber – CSKA. Here, all that was good against Peter is lacking. Super efforts are needed. Perasovic called for this during one of the timeouts.

      "Guys, we need to run on the court, not walk," the coach fumed.

      It should be noted that with this timeout, Velimir completely failed to reach the team. After it, things got worse. Yes, Melo was not as active, and Pistiolis was holding him more often, but overall, CSKA looked better and more cohesive as a team.

      Bingham, of course, scored a beautiful basket from Shved's assist, but what is the point when by that moment you are already "burning" down by 26? Before the final quarter, the army team led 71:45.

      Reynolds awaits revenge.

      The last ten minutes of this match could be watched without much attention, just to finish it. In fact, nothing changed in the shade of this game – the Kazan team could do nothing, while the Moscow club needed nothing more. They simply rolled to the buzzer, fully understanding the situation – 91:63. And the first match of this final, which everyone was waiting for, was lost with a crash in Moscow. Of course, conclusions will be drawn, but there is little confidence that UNICS can "come back" in the series against such CSKA.

      In this sense, it is amusing that Reynolds, during the handshake after the game, jokingly showed the opponents – as if to say, this is just the beginning. But it seems too reckless. Although we thought the same about Zenit. On Thursday, the second part of this "spectacle." UNICS needs to pull out all the aces, or they will see no glory.

      Photo: cskabasket.ru

      More news about the event:

      UNICS coach Perasovic commented on the loss to CSKA in the first match of the playoff final series.

      Head coach of UNICS Velimir Perasovic explained why his team lost in the first match of the playoff final of the United League against CSKA (63:91; 0-1). 09:22 03.06.2026 IA Tatar-inform - Kazan

      CSKA "took" UNICS: what happened to Perasovic in the first match of the final in Moscow.

      No chances: why UNICS was decisively "burned" by CSKA. Ovechkin. Shipachev. 08:22 03.06.2026 IA Tatar-inform - Kazan

      "Patience and defense": UNICS lost to CSKA in the first game of the final with a crushing score.

      The match ended in favor of Moscow, but today's game is just the beginning of the series. Photo: 00:48 03.06.2026 Real Time - Kazan

      UNICS lost decisively to CSKA in the first match of the VTB United League final with a score of 63:91.

      The Kazan team confidently started the first ten minutes of the game, but by the second half of the match, they began to lose by -30 points. Photo: 23:34 02.06.2026 Real Time - Kazan

      Lack of strength and emotions.

      At the start of the final series, CSKA, having confidently closed its semifinal in 5 games, took advantage of its freshness and achieved a home victory with a score of 91:63 over UNICS. 22:45 02.06.2026 BK Unics Kazan - Kazan

      UNICS lost to CSKA in the first match of the final. Trimble made 10 free throws, while the Kazan team made 13.

      In Moscow, UNICS's loss to CSKA concluded the first match of the VTB United League final (63:91). 22:33 02.06.2026 Business Online - Kazan

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      Melo Trimble – MVP of the "regular season"-2025/26!

      CSKA became the winner of the regular championship for the first time since 2023 – the army team achieved a result of 37-3. 20:44 02.06.2026 PBC CSKA Moscow - Moscow