Zenit confidently wins in Perm
The starting five for the blue-whites blues today were: captain Sergey Karasev, Trent Frazier, Dwayne Bacon, Vince Hunter and Andrey Vorontsevich.
A tough shot with contact from the paint by Hunter opened the scoring in the match. The home side responded to Zenit's strong start with a couple of successful drives from Royce Hamm, who, incidentally, is also a former St. Petersburg player. Both teams were restrained in their offense, and the game started at a slow pace, evenly matched. However, towards the midpoint of the first quarter, thanks to a three-pointer from Frazier and a two-pointer from Karasev, Zenit took a 6-point lead. The teams ended the first ten minutes with this fluctuating advantage for the visitors — 16:23 in favor of the St. Petersburg team.
In the next segment, the pace accelerated sharply. While Bacon and Zbanov were hitting shots from beyond the arc for the blue-whites, PARMA was trying to muster something in attack, occasionally getting blocked by Spellman. For the Perm team, it was Hamm and Shashkov who were making an impact, with Shashkov catching fire. Midway through the period, Zenit went on another run, and with a deficit of 11 points, the Ural team called for a timeout. However, the hosts found no real momentum for a comeback after the pause — 37:46 at halftime.
Zenit's clear and coordinated play on both ends of the court allowed them to continue the same script in the second half. While Hamm and Nevels were attempting to chip away at the lead, the blue-whites calmly maintained their advantage: Frazier hit from long range, and Spellman scored emphatically. By the fifth minute, PARMA had closed the gap to within one shot, but the hosts' momentum was quickly neutralized, thanks again to two consecutive long-range shots from Trent. By the final quarter, the lead was substantial — 53:67.
The final segment was similar to the previous ones. Around the middle of the ten-minute stretch, the Perm team tried to mount another scoring run, only to face stiff resistance once more. The St. Petersburg players managed their side of the court effectively and didn't forget about their offense: three-pointers from Bacon and Spellman, and put-backs from Hunter. Zenit effortlessly brought the match to its inevitable conclusion — a 74:86 victory.
The top performers for the blue-whites today were Dwayne Bacon (19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist), Trent Frazier (18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals),and Omari Spellman (15 points, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 1 rebound).
Xavi Pascual's team will play their next match after the break for the national teams' games. The game against Pari Nizhny Novgorod will take place on November 29, also away. Start is at 19:00 St. Petersburg time.
