Zenit wins first match of the bronze series
Zenit secured a victory in the first home match of the bronze medal series of the 2025/26 VTB United League. The game against Lokomotiv Kuban ended with a score of 82:80 in favor of the Blue-White-Sky Blues. Details are in our report.
Johnny Juzang, Xavier Moon, and Pavel Zemskiy missed the first game for third place. Zenit’s starting five featured Andre Roberson, Trent Frazier, Sergey Karasev, Andrey Martiuk, and Georgy Zhbanov.
The match began with a Zenit turnover on their first possession, to which Loko responded with an inaccurate three-point attempt. The game’s first point was scored by the visitors: Anton Kvitkovskikh made one free throw. Zenit’s reaction was immediate — a 7:0 run and a confident statement of dominance. The Blue-White-Sky Blues took control of the game from the very start, and Lokomotiv Kuban’s coaching staff couldn't help but notice — with the score at 13:5, Tomislav Tomović called a timeout. By that point, all of Zenit’s points came from the trio of Zhbanov, Martiuk, and Roberson. Subsequently, Zenit continued to feel comfortable both on offense and defense, maintaining a tempo that suited them. Three-pointers were made by Uzinskiy and Vorontsevich, who had come off the bench, and by the first break, the scoreboard at the CSC Arena showed 23:14.
After stuttering slightly at the start of the next period, the home team regained their composure and reaffirmed their lead. Much of this was thanks to Georgy Zhbanov, who scored 8 points in the first five minutes of the quarter alone. The railwaymen were forced to call another timeout, but Zenit continued to push forward, and a three-pointer by Emchenko put the team up by "+11". Around that moment, something broke in the Blue-White-Sky Blues’ game. The opponents regularly scored from the free-throw line, operated successfully under the basket, while Zenit missed their opportunities. As a result, by halftime, Petersburg’s lead had been cut to a minimum — 41:40.
Early in the third quarter, it resembled a shootout: both sides were effective on offense and took turns pulling ahead. However, gradually, not for the first time this evening, the Blue-White-Sky Blues managed to turn the tide in their favor. Thanks to aggressive offense (including a couple of successful drives by Uzinskiy) and free-throw shooting, the Petersburg team regained a "+11" lead. Long-range shots by Emchenko and Zhbanov allowed Zenit to maintain a comfortable gap. All that remained was to confirm their intentions to win in the final stretch — 69:60.
An 8:0 run allowed Zenit to strengthen an already confident lead. For Loko, the situation was becoming close to deadlock, as the deficit had grown to 17 points. But Tomislav Tomović’s team managed to put up a high level of resistance in the decisive fourth quarter and pressed until the very end, ultimately dragging both teams into a clutch situation. While Petersburg’s offense went silent, the red-greens kept cutting the deficit. In the final minute of the game, the gap was just 2 points. However, the victory remained with the Blue-White-Sky Blues — 82:80. Zenit took a 1-0 lead in the bronze medal series.
The highest scorer for our team today was, as expected, Georgy Zhbanov — 22 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound.
The second game of the series will take place the day after tomorrow, June 3, also in Saint Petersburg at the CSC Arena. The match will begin at 19:30 local time. Tickets are on sale on the club’s website.
