Returning from Yekaterinburg with a win
Zenit defeated Uralmash on the road, 79:86. The matchup against the Yekaterinburg team took place as part of the 13th round of the VTB United League regular season. Despite a tense battle and a nervy ending, the Blue-White-Sky Blues led for the entire 40 minutes and are heading back to the Northern Capital with a victory. Here’s a closer look at how the game unfolded.
Zenit’s starting lineup: Andrey Martiuk, Georgy Zhbanov, Levi Randolph, Neno Dimitrijevic, and Luka Samanic.
A flurry of turnovers and mistakes by the hosts in the opening minutes allowed Zenit to capitalize and jump ahead 11:2, forcing Rostislav Vergun to call an early timeout. Zenit looked sharp offensively from the start: Samanic scored on three drives to the basket, while Frazier and Dimitrijevic each knocked down a three-pointer. The visitors built an 11-point lead more than once, but toward the end of the first quarter Uralmash regrouped and trimmed the margin slightly — 17:25, Zenit in front.
The second quarter swung back and forth. Both teams delivered productive runs, trying to seize momentum from one another. The gap hovered between 6 and 12 points: the hosts found success in transition, while Zenit kept hitting their shots from beyond the arc. Frazier’s three-pointer at the buzzer sent the teams into halftime with the visitors firmly ahead — 35:46.
After the break, however, Uralmash took over. The home side shot well from long range and repeatedly broke through Zenit’s defense. Despite a few bright moments from Martiuk, Randolph, and Dimitrijevic, the opponent had the stronger showing in this stretch — 60:63 heading into the final quarter.
The last ten minutes began with two deep threes from Frazier, an and-one from Zhbanov, and free throws from Uzinskiy — and in less than three minutes Zenit restored a 12-point cushion. Uralmash called an urgent timeout, and it worked: after some adjustments, they scored 6 points in ninety seconds, prompting Zenit to stop the game as well. Even after the timeout, the hosts kept pressing: Gerasimov and Nelson cut the deficit to just 2. Zenit finally broke their scoring drought thanks to another Frazier three and Martiuk’s put-back, giving the visitors some breathing room. Just when it seemed the hosts had run out of steam, they found one more surge: Kardanakhishvili hit from deep, and Gerasimov converted a 2+1. In the final minute the gap shrank to a single possession again, but with 11 seconds left Frazier buried his signature three-pointer, sealing the result — 79:86, Zenit’s win.
Zenit’s top performers were Trent Frazier (20 points, 3 assists), Andrey Martiuk (14 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block), and Neno Dimitrijevic (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal).
On December 10, Zenit will host Samara at home in the 14th round of the VTB United League regular season. The game will take place at CSC Arena and will begin at 20:00 St. Petersburg time. Tickets are available on the club’s website.
