Zenit loses in the Game 6 of the finals in Moscow, the score in the series is 2-4
Zenit's starting five: Trent Frazier, Alexey Shved, Vince Hunter, Okaro White and Dwayne Bacon.
Vince Hunter opened the game with a powerful dunk, but CSKA immediately responded with a three-pointer from Amath M’Baye. The high-scoring start continued with a three-pointer from Alexey Shved and a putback by Ivan Ukhov. The pace of the game then slowed slightly, and the "army team" gradually began to take control. With an 8-point deficit, Zenit’s coaching staff called their first timeout, after which Shved quickly nailed another three, and on the next possession delivered a perfect mid-range assist to Zhbanov. In the following attack, Georgy found Alex Poythress, who finished with a slam dunk. A few successful offensive plays allowed the blue-whites to cut the gap to three points with a minute remaining in the first quarter. This time, hosts head coach Andreas Pistiolis called a timeout, but the score remained unchanged until the buzzer — 23:20 in favor of CSKA after the first ten minutes.
In the second quarter, Zenit continued to pressure CSKA’s defense and held their own at least until the halfway point of the period. Vorontsevich hit a three-pointer, Bacon converted an "and-one" play, and Hunter was quick to clean up missed shots. However, in the time remaining before halftime, the hosts went on a run that extended their lead to 16 points. Zenit’s slump was caused by a high number of turnovers and poor shooting efficiency. Vorontsevich’s buzzer-beating three trimmed the deficit slightly heading into the locker room and offered a glimmer of hope for a comeback — 52:39.
But in the second half, Zenit was unable to turn the game around. CSKA confidently held on to their lead, extending it to over 20 points. The St. Petersburg team kept fighting, executed some successful offensive possessions and even won the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t enough. Final score — 96:73. The cup stays in Moscow, and Zenit takes home the silver medals of the VTB United League.
Zenit’s top performers today were Trent Frazier (17 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds), Dwayne Bacon (16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), Alexey Shved (9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) and Alex Poythress (9 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal).
