Today Astana is playing with the current champion Zenit from St. Petersburg.

Although the club was formed only in 2014, it established itself as one of the strongest teams in the League.

The club's achievements include:

• Champion of the VTB United League: 2021/2022.
• League bronze medalist: 2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2020/2021.
• Winner of the VTB United League Super Cup: 2022.
• Super Bowl Silver Medalist: 2021.

Since 2020, the team has been led by Spanish coach Javier Pascual, who previously worked at Barcelona and won the Euroleague with them.

Now Zenit is third in the VTB United League standings, right after CSKA and UNICS. It is worth mentioning the following players of the team: Thomas Ertel (12.8 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, 8.6 assists per game), Trey Tompkins (10.9 points per game), and Caleb Homesley (9.7 points per game). The rival's defense deserves special mention: they concede the fewest goals in the League (68.9 points).

Despite the reigning championship of Zenit, the first game with Astana this season ended in a fair competition with a score of 88:66 in favor of St. Petersburg. Therefore, our guys have every chance to impose an even tougher fight on today's guests because, this time, they will be able to count on the support of their loyal fans!

«We are playing against the active champion of the VTB United League! We all know that the fans are the 6th player of the team, so we are waiting for their strong support at the game; we need it! Let's enjoy the game; we will surely impose a fight on the current champion together!» Daniil Aksenov called before the fight.

The match will be held at the Saryarka cycle track and start at 15:00 Astana time. Tickets are on sale at  Zakazbiletov.kz.

Detailed information about the tournament, standings, schedule, and match results are published in the Tournaments section.

Astana lost to Zenit in the match of the VTB United League.

The match was held at the Saryarka cycle track on Orthodox Christmas Day and ended with a score of 93:75 in favor of the guests.

Astana did not start the game very well; however, in the second and third quarters, they imposed a fight on the current champion of the VTB United League. At some point, the gap was reduced to -9, but in the end, the club from St. Petersburg took the upper hand in the game and won a landslide victory.

Oleg Kiselev especially noted Thomas Ertel (23 points, 13 assists, KPI 28). «He played well today, conducted the team's game, handed out passes, and also scored himself,» said the Kazakh coach.

Daniil Aksenov (19 points), Kwame Vaughn, and Valery Likhodey (15 points each) stood out in Astana.
 
«First of all, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We started the game well; in the first quarter, we were effective both in defense and offense. In the second and third quarters, Astana began to play better, the game evened out, and it became harder for us. We finally found opportunities to turn the game around in the fourth quarter and win the match. I wish Astana all the best, especially the coach; he did a great job.» — said the head coach of Zenit, Javier Pascual, after the game.

The next match of Astana will take place on January 11, and the team of Oleg Kiselyov will play at home with Minsk. Tickets are on sale at  Zakazbiletov.kz.

Detailed information about the tournament, standings, schedule, and match results are published in the Tournaments section.