Zenit kicked a hundred and defeated MBA-MAI in the first season game
From the first seconds Zenit’s starting five included guards Trent Frazier and Xavier Moon, forwards Omari Spellman and Dwayne Bacon, and Vince Hunter at center. This lineup played a significant part of the game’s opening.
After a chaotic tip-off, the visitors launched the first attack, but Hunter made a clever steal and opened the score. While MBA couldn’t capitalize on their chances, Zenit consistently put the ball in the basket: first, Moon hit a three-pointer, then Frazier made a mid-range shot, and the scoreboard already showed 7:0. Zenit kept building their lead, hitting free throws again and again. By the middle of the first quarter, Bacon scored his first points, completing the scoring for all the starters. With a quick breakaway, the Moon-Hunter duo set up a brilliant dunk, and Zenit’s lead reached "+11". Clearly, Moscow’s initial game plan had failed, forcing head coach Vasily Karasev to call a timeout for adjustments. And it worked. With efforts from Andrey Zubkov, MBA-MAI managed to slow down the game and cut the deficit. However, powerful blocks from Poythress and a three-pointer from Denis Zakharov, assisted by Andrey Vorontsevich, calmed the visitors. The first quarter ended with a 22:18 lead for the hosts.
The second quarter began with Alex Poythress scoring on run and then a hook shot. From that point, the game became more intense and the pace picked up. For a while, Trent became the main figure on the court: he shot free throws, committed fouls, missed three-pointers, but then nailed a two-pointer at the shot clock buzzer. MBA, however, stayed competitive and didn’t allow Zenit to pull away like at the start of the game — at least for the time being. Meanwhile, Bacon and Spellman scored back-to-back with fouls drawn. By the end of the second quarter, the visitors accumulated quite a few fouls. At halftime, the score was 47:41.
In the second half, Zenit again took control, delivering their most productive quarter of the game. The trio of Moon-Hunter-Bacon worked together towards securing the win, scoring in nearly every attack. Toward the end of the quarter, the gap grew to 21 points. The visitors looked rattled, and despite another timeout by Vasily Karasev, the situation didn’t change significantly. Going into the final stretch, the scoreboard at CSC Arena showed 80:54. Zenit was on course for their first victory of the VTB United League season — and the coveted hundred points.
In the final quarter, the question of the winner was no longer in doubt. The only intrigue for the fans in the stands was which Zenit player would hit the hundred-point mark. As part of the rotation, Egor Ryzhov and Alexander Shcherbenev entered the court, with Shcherbenev immediately hitting a long-range shot. Everyone was scoring — Poitress, Ryzhov — but it was Frazier who secured the coveted hundred with a solo drive to the basket. The final score of the season opener was 103:75.
The top scorers for Zenit were Dwayne Bacon (21 points + 3 rebounds), Xavier Moon (14 points + 3 rebounds + 6 assists + 4 steals), and Alex Poitress (13 points + 4 rebounds + 2 blocks and assist + steal).
Zenit’s next VTB United League regular season game will also be at home on September 25 at 19:30 St. Petersburg time. This time, Chavi Pascual’s squad will face Saratov’s Avtodor. Tickets are available on the website tickets.bc-zenit.com.
