Zenit takes revenge in Yekaterinburg

Zenit crushed Yekaterinburg’s Uralmash on the road with a score of 60:78. The match took place today, February 19, as part of the 28th round of the regular season of the VTB United League and marked the second meeting between the teams this week.

After a setback in their home game in the domestic Cup, the Blue-White-Sky Blues managed to take a confident revenge on the road. Thanks to this victory, Dejan Radonjić’s squad maintains 3rd place in the standings, with 19 wins and 9 losses. Here’s everything you need to know about today’s clash.

The match in Yekaterinburg was missed by Zenit’s Croatian center, Luka Šamanić. In his absence, the starting five for the St. Petersburg team looked like this: Trent Frazier, Andrey Martiuk, Georgy Zhbanov, Levi Randolph, and Andrey Vorontsevich — for the Russian forward, this game marked his 100th official appearance in the Blue-White-Sky Blues jersey.

Zenit started explosively, opening an 8:2 run that forced the opposing coach to call a timeout — Zhbanov, Randolph, and Frazier were effective both from close range and under the basket. The team especially excelled in defense, staying highly focused, contesting every ball, and forcing Yekaterinburg players into mistakes. Accurate shots from beyond the arc by Frazier and Emchenko had already given Zenit a double-digit lead by mid-quarter. From there, the visitors’ advantage only grew: Dmitry Uzinskiy contributed effectively off the bench, scoring a couple of good long-range and driving baskets. At the first break, the score was 18:29.

In the second ten-minute period, the Blue-White-Sky Blues completely controlled the game and had no intention of giving up the initiative. Tough defense and good ball movement in transition allowed them to maintain and extend the handicap. The offense was orchestrated by Trent and Vlad, who were Zenit’s top scorers by halftime — 33:49 at the break.

After returning from the locker rooms, the teams exchanged bright attacks: Zenit responded to Pisclov and Nevels’ baskets with a three-pointer from Vorontsevich and a drive from Frazier. Zenit maintained full control of the match. Looking at the final statistics, the disparity in steals (13 for St. Petersburg versus 3 for the opponent) and turnovers (21 for Uralmash versus 11 for Zenit) stands out. As a result, Radonjić’s team confidently secured the win — 60:78.

The top performers for the Blue-White-Sky Blues today were Trent Frazier (22 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals), Vladislav Emchenko (14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals), and Andre Roberson (8 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals).

On Sunday, February 22, as part of a back-to-back road trip, Zenit will play against BETCITY PARMA in Perm. The match will start at 16:00 St. Petersburg time.