Zenit beats Avtodor on the road
The game in Saratov resembled a rollercoaster ride: the teams alternated between explosive stretches of play, pushing the game up and down. As a result of such intense competition, the fans witnessed an exciting and high-scoring match.
From the very first seconds on the court of the Kristall sports palace, the St. Petersburg team featured captain Sergey Karasev, Trent Frazier, Dwayne Bacon, Vince Hunter and Andrey Vorontsevich and this squad set a great tone for the game.
Zenit scored first, with Frazier hitting a three-pointer. Vorontsevich followed suit and also nailed a three-pointer on the next possession. After a slight hitch with the time adjustment, our captain was added to the shooters from afar — the starting 9:0 from Zenit forced the coaching staff of the hosts to take an emergency timeout. The first points for Avtodor came from their leader, Caleb Agada. Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg team continued their three-point shooting spree, with Bacon adding a shot from behind the arc. The game proceeded with a confident advantage for Xavi Pascual's team, as Vince and Trent broke through Avtodor's defense with solo drives, and Dwayne took on the role of the main scorer (10 points in the quarter). Georgy Zbanov made a successful substitution, assisting Alex Poythress for a dunk on a fast break and later adding another three-pointer for St. Petersburg. Avtodor’s Kerem Kanter caught fire, scoring 7 points with 100% accuracy, helping to slightly close the gap to 20:34 by the end of the first quarter.
The debut of the second quarter confirmed Sergey Karasev's pregame statement — it’s never easy to play against Avtodor on their court. After the break, Milenko Bogicevic’s team immediately went on a 7-point run, putting the visitors in a small knockdown. The game soon leveled out, Moon and Poythress restored a double-digit lead for Zenit, while Spellman joined the shooting club with two three-pointers. However, Avtodor managed to disrupt Zenit's rhythm, using the opportunity to adjust their game and get back into the match. The teams went to the halftime break with Zenit ahead, 45:50.
The trend from the previous quarter continued into the second half. Avtodor continued to press, even briefly tying the score. Then this was followed by a scoring drought of the hosts, which was taken advantage of by Zenit's attack and set the scoreboard to "+9"..This run was crucial, as it gave Xavi Pascual's team place to maneuver both offensively and defensively. Notably, Poythress delivered a powerful dunk off a pass from Moon, a highlight that will surely make the VTB United League’s top plays of the week. Heading into the final quarter, Zenit led 61:71.
The decisive stretch began with a three-pointer from Avtodor's Dusan Beslac, who could have added another but missed. However, his teammate Jamal Jones succeeded. The home team once again came out strong, cutting Zenit's lead to just 4 points. At the right moment, Zenit's leaders stepped up: Bacon scored on an offensive rebound, and Spellman hit another three-pointer. Avtodor responded with two from Khaldeev and another from Beslac behind the arc. In the last 5 minutes, the pace soared, and Avtodor managed to close the gap. In the final minute, fouls committed by Avtodor allowed Zenit to hold on for a narrow win, 84:88.
The top scorers for Zenit were Dwayne Bacon (25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal), Xavier Moon (14 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) and Alex Poythress (14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist).
In the next round of the VTB United League regular season, Zenit will play away against MBA-MAI. The game will take place on November 14 at the Moscow Basket Hall. Start — at 19:30 (St. Petersburg time).
