Zenit falls to CSKA on the road

Zenit lost away to Moscow CSKA with a score of 93:88. Today’s matchup with the army team took place as part of the 11th round of the VTB United League regular season. Here is our detailed report from the game.

Andre Roberson and Sergey Karasev, who are recovering from injuries, missed the game in Moscow. Zenit’s starting five today featured Trent Frazier, Andrey Martiuk, Georgy Zhbanov, Dmitry Uzinskiy, and Levi Randolph.

The game opened with a three-pointer from CSKA forward Anton Astapkovich, after which Zenit made a tremendous run that gave the team a solid lead: Uzinskiy, Zhbanov, and Frazier each hit from beyond the arc, and Martiuk scored from mid-range. CSKA was forced to take a timeout. However, even after the break, the St. Petersburg team didn’t slow down, and Zhbanov’s basket set the score at 3:13. Gradually, CSKA found their rhythm and attempted to reduce the gap, but they couldn’t do so in this quarter. At the end of the first ten minutes, the Blue-White-Sky Blues produced another highly productive stretch: Vorontsevich and Shcherbenev knocked down threes, while Dimitrijevic scored on drives — 17:31.

In the second quarter, CSKA immediately launched into a chase. Pretty soon, the red-blues managed to cut the deficit from 14 to 6 points. After such a strong run from their opponents, the Zenit players regrouped and responded well: Levi and Trent hit threes, and Zhbanov scored from mid-range. However, the end of the quarter belonged to CSKA, whose leader Melo Trimble reduced the gap to seven points before halftime — 42:49.

The first five minutes of the next half became a true showcase for Zhbanov. The Zenit forward scored from all positions, adding 10 more points to his tally. However, with each passing minute, CSKA increased the pressure, and thanks to several tough long-range shots, they reduced the deficit to just one point — 69:70 before the final quarter.

The final segment began with a precise three-pointer from Trent Frazier. Then Casper Ware took center stage — the American guard for the hosts scored 7 points in a row, putting his team ahead. The battle continued at a frantic pace. The teams traded leads: CSKA answered Samanic’s basket and Vorontsevich’s three with accurate shots from Trimble. With four minutes remaining, Jean-Charles’s put-back gave CSKA a five-point lead, and Zenit called another timeout. Unfortunately, Zenit was unable to erase the opponent’s lead in the clutch. The final score — 93:88 in favor of CSKA.

Zenit’s top performers today were Georgy Zhbanov (21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist), Luka Samanic (12 points, 6 rebounds), Levi Randolph (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal), and Neno Dimitrijevic (11 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds).

Zenit’s next game will take place as part of the WINLINE Basket Cup group stage. After the national team break, the Blue-White-Sky Blues will travel to face Igokea from the Republic of Srpska. The match will take place on December 4 in Laktasi and will begin at 21:00.