Frazier’s three-pointer secures victory for Zenit in Laktasi
Zenit claimed an away win over Igokea from the Republika Srpska. The 3rd round match of the WINLINE Basket Cup group stage ended with a score of 80:83 in favor of the St. Petersburg team. More details about the game are in our report.
Today’s match in Laktasi marked the debut in the Blue-White-Sky Blues jersey for American center Noah Vonleh. Zenit captain Sergey Karasev also returned to the roster, although Andre Roberson missed the game as he continues his recovery from injury. The St. Petersburg starting five looked like this: Andrey Martiuk, Georgy Zhbanov, Levi Randolph, Neno Dimitrijevic, and Andrey Vorontsevich.
The start belonged to Igokea — the Bosnian team quickly gained a 6-point advantage. While the hosts excelled from long range, Vonleh scored first points for Zenit with a two-pointer. The Blue-White-Sky Blues squad explored different ways to equalize the score, but until the first break, the Bosnians led 25:19.
In the second quarter, Aleksander Sekulic’s squad managed to fight back from the start. Zenit launched a highly productive run, cutting off their opponent and taking a 9-point lead — 27:36. However, the St. Petersburg team could not maintain this advantage. Igokea regrouped in time and led 43:41 at halftime. After the teams returned from the locker rooms, they played high-scoring basketball with evenly matched competition. Throughout the third quarter, Zenit tried to regain the lead lost before halftime, but the hosts continued to lead with a fluctuating margin of one or two possessions. This ten-minute period served as a warm-up for a truly intense finale — 64:63.
The final quarter began with free throws for the home team. However, Zenit responded decisively: Vonleh dominated in the paint, scoring at the basket, and Karasev hit a three-pointer — Zenit took the lead again. But it was short-lived. In the closing minutes, the lead switched back and forth, and every possession, foul, pass, and turnover was crucial. With 3 minutes 30 seconds left, Bosnian guard Marko Jeremic hit a long-range shot to put his team up by 3 — 76:73. After Aleksander Sekulic’s timeout, Zenit turned the game around, scoring 5 consecutive points: Zhbanov scored under the basket on a drive, followed by a successful three-pointer from Shamanic after Frazier’s steal. The Blue-White-Sky Blues led 78:76 with 2 minutes 53 seconds remaining. A powerful dunk by Vonleh sealed Zenit’s run and extended their lead to "+4". However, Igokea executed a couple of successful attacks to tie the game at 80:80 with 17.5 seconds left. In the final possession, Trent calmly advanced to the three-point line on the opponent’s half and, as the timer rapidly approached zero, sank the shot — the American guard’s three-pointer secured an 80:83 away victory for Zenit.
Zenit will play their next WINLINE Basket Cup match on December 23 at 19:30. Another game against Igokea will take place in St. Petersburg at the CSC Arena.
This Sunday, December 7, Zenit will face Uralmash in Yekaterinburg. The 13th round regular-season VTB United League match will start at 15:00 St. Petersburg time.
