Zenit vs Samara. Preview
Context
For the second year in a row, the Croatian specialist Drazen Anzulovic is coaching the team. Last season, Samara made it to the VTB United League quarterfinals through the play-in stage, where they lost to UNICS Kazan.
Currently, Samara holds the 8th position in the league standings, with three wins out of eight games. Their last game was also an away match, where Anzulovic’s players suffered a close 92:89 loss to PARMA. With just 27 seconds left on the clock, Samara had managed to tie the score, but the home team clinched the win in the final attack. The most outstanding player of that game was team newcomer and point guard Brendan Adams, who scored 27 points and made five assists. Adams is also the team's overall season leader, averaging 15.1 points per game.
Samara’s matches this season have been high-scoring, averaging 81.1 points per game. In the VTB League, only the top three teams — Zenit, CSKA, and Loko — score more on average.
Head-to-head
The history between Zenit and Samara includes only four games, with the blue-whites winning all encounters.
Quotes
Zenit head coach Xavi Pascual about the game with Samara:
So, first of all, we are happy that we are coming back to St. Petersburg to play. We would like to have as many supporters as possible at this game and to offer a good image, to be solid, both parts of the court, defensively and offensively, against one team that is very well-coached. They have a very, very good coach, good players, good roster, and it's going to be very difficult to win.
Who. Where. When.
Opponent: Samara
Location: CSC Arena, Saint Petersburg
Date: October 30, 20:00 (local time)
Broadcast: Match! Igra, Okko Sport, VTB United League website, Start
Tickets are available on tickets.bc-zenit.com.
