«Зенит» побеждает «Самару» в дебютном матче Деяна Радоньича
The Blue-White-Sky Blues crushed Samara at home with a score of 113:52. The 25th round game of the VTB United League regular season took place today in Saint Petersburg and marked Dejan Radonjić’s first match as head coach of “Zenit.”
The day before the game, Xavier Moon also joined the team, but the American guard did not take part in the match against the Volga team. From the first minutes, Trent Fraser, Andrey Martiuk, Georgy Zhbanov, Levi Randolph, and Luka Šamanić stepped onto the KSK Arena court.
From the very start, “Zenit” took control of the game and began to build a lead. The team’s big men repeatedly scored from close range, while the defense smartly forced the visitors into mistakes and stole the ball. By the middle of the quarter, the blue-white-cyan were leading 13–4. However, the offense slowed down a bit: by the end of the period, only Andrey Vorontsevich made a notable contribution with a drive and a three-pointer, while “Samara” managed to slightly reduce the deficit — 20–16 after the first ten minutes.
The second quarter, however, put everything in its place. The duo of Andre Roberson and Luka Šamanić quickly restored a double-digit lead for their team, and a three-pointer from Vladislav Yemchenko and a fast break finish from Trent Fraser pushed the Saint Petersburg team to a “20+” advantage. The first half ended with a score of 56–25.
After returning from the locker room, “Zenit” calmly and steadily brought the match to victory. Towards the end, the Saint Petersburg team’s score passed the hundred mark — Šamanić scored in a fast break. The team’s top scorer was Andrey Martiuk, who put up 21 points, marking his personal record in a “Zenit” jersey. The final score was 113–52.
On February 4, the blue-white-cyan will host Krasnoyarsk’s “Enisey” at home. The 26th round regular season game will take place at KSK Arena and start at 20:00 Saint Petersburg time. Tickets are available on the club’s website.
