Kuzbass vs. Zenit
For the first time in the history of Superliga, the two clubs that carry the name Zenit, the one from Kazan and the one from Saint Petersburg will fight for the title.
The defending champions and also No.1 Zenit Kazan were on the verge of losing Game 2 of the semifinals to No.7 Kuzbass Kemerovo, who once again played without their best scorer Viktor Poleteav.
The Cuban Wilfredo León from the winning side was the star of the match. Not only because he scored a game-high 31 points (10 aces) but because of what he pulled off in the second set. At 19-18 for Zenit Kazan, he scored 6 points in a row: two attacks and 4 aces, just in that order. Anton Karpukhov topped Kuzbass with 19 points.
The fifth-seed Zenit Sankt-Peterburg also prevailed over their rivals, No.3 Dinamo Moscow, in the tie-break, coming back from 0-2 to 3-2, partially 20-25, 16-25, 28-26, 25-18, 25-13).
Game 1 of the best-of-five playoff finals will be played on April 21 with Zenit Kazan having a home-court advantage in the series.
To see complete results, stats, and standings, visit our RUS National Championship 2017/2018 / Male / Seniors page.
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