Starting the year with a victory

Zenit defeated Perm's BETCITY PARMA away with a score of 77:85. The match took place as part of the 18th round of the regular season of the VTB United League and was the first for both teams in 2026. All the key moments are in our report.

For the first time since October, Andre Roberson returned to the lineup of the Blue-White-Sky Blues, immediately joining the starting five alongside Trent Frazier, Andrey Vorontsevich, Georgy Zhbanov, and Levi Randolph.

The match began quite challenging for Zenit. The team made mistakes on offense and primarily scored points from free throws due to opponent fouls. After the score reached 12:6 in favor of PARMA midway through the quarter, the Blue-White-Sky Blues regrouped, equalized the score, and took the lead: Vorontsevich made a three-pointer, and Frazier, Zhbanov, Uzinskiy, and Randolph successfully converted free throws, making the score 12:15. The hosts responded with a long-range shot from Brendan Adams and restored parity. At the end of the quarter, the teams exchanged runs of 0:7 and 5:0, heading into the first break with a score of 20:22.

In the next segment, the game continued at a tight pace. The match was not easy for Zenit: the Perm team put up strong resistance and regained the lead. However, the deficit of "-6" was neutralized as quickly as it appeared: Zenit went on a 14:1 run and managed to establish a 7-point lead with two minutes left in the first half. Effective plays from the trio of Randolph, Frazier, and Vorontsevich forced Evgeny Pashutin to call a timeout. After adjustments from the head coach, PARMA managed to cut the difference to a single possession, and only a buzzer-beater from Trent established a score of 37:41 by the end of the first half.

The third quarter started with another successful stretch from the hosts. In response to Randolph's long-range shot, PARMA went on a 7:0 run to equalize the score. However, the scoring drought for the Blue-White-Sky Blues was broken by Levi, who recorded an and-one. By the middle of the quarter, our team led 46:53 thanks to effective drives from Roberson and second-chance points from Zhbanov. Gradually, Zenit built a double-digit lead and felt very comfortable heading into the final quarter — 53:63.

Long-range shots from Zhbanov, Vorontsevich, Frazier, and Randolph allowed the Blue-White-Sky Blues to maintain a confident lead despite the hosts' fervor and hope for a comeback. Martiuk performed well in the paint. However, time was running out, and the gap continued to grow. In the final moments, the Ural team mounted a last-ditch effort, but it did not bring them closer to victory. The final score was 77:85 in favor of Zenit.

The most productive players for the Saint Petersburg team today were Levi Randolph (27 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal), Andrey Vorontsevich (15 points, 4 rebounds), and Trent Frazier (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals).

Zenit's next match in the VTB United League will be on January 11, away against Saratov's Avtodor. The game will start at 15:00 Petersburg time.