Zenit defeat CSKA and take the top spot
Zenit secured a confident victory in a home game against Moscow's CSKA. Following the 40th round of the VTB United League regular season, the blue-whites climbed to first place in the standings and extended their unbeaten streak to 16 matches. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the game.
Starting five for Zenit: captain Sergey Karasev, Trent Frazier, Dwayne Bacon, Vince Hunter and Andrey Vorontsevich.
As expected for a game of this caliber, the match started with intense competition — both teams quickly exchanged steals, disrupting each other’s early attacks. The first points of the game came from Trent Frazier, who nailed a three-pointer. The visitors responded with a successful and-one play by Jean-Charles and a two-pointer from M'Baye. The pace was high, the teams played tight defense, and the lead on the scoreboard changed almost every possession. CSKA’s French duo consistently scored in the paint, while Zenit relied more on long-range shooting — Karasev, White and Frazier all found their mark from beyond the arc. A four-point deficit and a few missed shots forced CSKA’s head coach Andreas Pistiolis to call the first timeout. However, this did not drastically change the course of the game — Zenit kept pressing and maintained their lead, which at one point reached eight points. The first quarter ended in favor of the hosts 27:22.
The second quarter started chaotically. Shved drained a beautiful three-pointer, CSKA responded with a drive from Trimble, but then both teams fell into a scoring drought. It wasn’t until the fourth minute that Ware broke the silence with a free throw. In response, Bacon hit a three, keeping Zenit’s lead comfortable. The home team controlled the pace, preventing CSKA from closing the gap. An emphatic putback by Alex Poythress pushed the lead to double digits for the first time, forcing CSKA to take another emergency timeout. The red-blues needed to adjust their strategy fast, but Zenit was not about to let them. Poythress, who was on fire, continued to dominate in the paint. By halftime, Zenit led 45:35.
After the break, CSKA immediately went on the attack — Jekiri’s and-one play, along with accurate shots from Ware and M'Baye, trimmed the deficit to just three points. This time, it was Zenit’s head coach Xavi Pascual who called a timeout. His tactical adjustments refreshed Zenit’s offense and temporarily locked down their defense, allowing them to regain an eight-point cushion. The blue-whites efficiently executed their set plays, and their key players stepped up to stretch the lead to 12 points. Back-to-back three-pointers from Bacon and Karasev, followed by a strong drive from Zhbanov, made it 66:54 heading into the final period.
Zenit never relinquished control in the final quarter. The hosts managed to maintain a comfortable lead for most of the period, but CSKA kept pushing, chipping away at the deficit in hopes of a comeback. With 9.5 seconds left on the clock, the difference was just three points — Hunter made one of two free throws, and CSKA’s last offensive possession failed to produce a score. The final result — 81:77.
The top performers for Zenit were Dwayne Bacon (19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist), Okaro White (17 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) and Trent Frazier (16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal).
In the next round of the VTB United League regular season, Zenit will face MBA-MAI away. The game will take place on April 3 in Moscow, starting at 19:00 St. Petersburg time.
