Returning from Saratov with a confident victory

St. Petersburg's Zenit defeated Saratov's Avtodor in an away game. The match was part of the 26th round of the VTB United League regular season. Here’s a detailed report of this away victory.

Trent Frazier, Georgy Zbanov, Dwayne Bacon, Vince Hunter and Andrey Vorontsevich started the game on the court of the Kristall sports palace sports palace.

The opening tip-off went to the visitors, and in the first possession, Bacon scored two points with a foul, which he confidently converted. The game began nervously, with mutual mistakes on both sides, but thanks to drives from Zbanov and Vorontsevich, Zenit opened with a 7:0 run. Saratov scored their first points in the fourth minute, with center Artem Klimenko completing a 2+1 play. Both teams played cautiously, focusing on defense and prolonged positional attacks. In one such moment, Sergey Karasev nailed a three-pointer from the corner. The 4–7 point lead gained by the blue-whites in the early minutes remained throughout the quarter — 12:17.

In the second period, centers Vince Hunter and Kerem Kanter traded driving layups, after which the game picked up a noticeably faster pace. Back-to-back dunks from Georgy Zbanov restored a 7-point lead for the visitors, prompting the Avtodor coaching staff to call their first timeout. The pause worked to their advantage. Upon returning, Saratov's captain Alexander Petenev hit mid-range and three-point shots, and forward Egor Sychkov added another long-range basket to put the hosts ahead. This time, Zenit needed a timeout. After some guidance from the head coach, Trent Frazier and Andrey Vorontsevich (twice) hit their three-point attempts, restoring Zenit’s lead. Free throws by Bacon, another three-pointer by the captain, and a two-pointer from Ryzhov pushed Zenit’s advantage to 14 points. However, in the final minutes of the quarter, the hosts closed the gap with a series of fast breaks. The teams went into halftime with the score at 32:39 in St. Petersburg's favor.

Andrey Vorontsevich, who was on fire during this game, opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, initiating a mini three-point shooting festival. Agada, Bacon, Petenev and Vorontsevich all successfully made their long-range attempts. Throughout this period, Zenit controlled the game, occasionally building a double-digit lead. However, just like in the second quarter, Saratov launched an assault in the final minutes — Agada’s late three-pointer, Beslac’s free throws and Jones’ drives kept the hosts in the game. The court at times resembled a battlefield, with tough clashes and intense physical play. The quarter ended with Zenit leading 49:60.

The final ten minutes were completely dominated by the visitors. An 8:0 run at the start effectively sealed the outcome of the game. At this point, the Poythress-Frazier duo took center stage, tearing apart the opponent’s defense. The final score was 60:79.

The standout performers for the blue-whites were Trent Frazier (18 points + 5 assists + 3 rebounds + 2 steals), Andrey Vorontsevich (16 points + 7 rebounds + 2 assists) and Dwayne Bacon (9 points + 5 rebounds + 2 assists).

In the next game, Zenit will face Samara away. The 27th round of the VTB United League will take place on Friday, January 24. The match starts at 18:30 St. Petersburg time.