"A Day in History": Zenit's first official victory in the EuroLeague
Unfortunately, their first home game also did not bring a victory for the blue-whites. On October 11, in the match against Barcelona, the game was closely contested for 30 minutes, but in the final quarter, the Spanish team proved stronger and secured the win 65:85. The road to Zenit's first EuroLeague victory led to Greece.
On October 18, 2019, the St. Petersburg team traveled to Piraeus for their third regular-season game against Olympiacos. The match started with a crushing 0:12 knockout, but Zenit managed to gradually recover by the end of the first quarter, even taking the lead thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Vladislav Trushkin.
While the second quarter was fairly balanced, the real action began in the second half. The third and fourth quarters were played with Zenit holding a slight advantage: while Mateusz Ponitka and his teammates were hitting mid-range shots, Alex Renfroe was scoring from beyond the arc. Their performance allowed them to maintain a comfortable lead, and everything seemed to point toward a long-awaited victory. However, in the final seconds, the home team managed to tie the game, pushing it to overtime. But at the extra period the blue-whites did not let it slip away — winning 68:77 and securing their first victory in Europe's most prestigious tournament.
The best player for Zenit in this match was Polish forward Mateusz Ponitka, who scored 18 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and recorded one steal, assist, and block. Additionally, their center Gustavo Ayon achieved a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Zenit's EuroLeague experience provided the club with many memorable moments and records, which we will revisit in the "A Day in history" project.
