Zenit opens the semifinals with a confident victory
Zenit's starting five featured team captain Sergey Karasev, Trent Frazier, Dwayne Bacon, Vince Hunter and Andrey Vorontsevich.
The first possession of the semifinal went to the Saint Petersburg side, and Bacon quickly opened the scoring with a basket under the hoop, beating Antonius Cleveland one-on-one. In the early minutes, Zenit looked noticeably fresher. Accurate free throws by Hunter, along with a drive and a three-pointer from Frazier, capped off a strong 9:0 opening run by the hosts. This forced Lokomotiv's head coach Andrey Vedishchev to call an early timeout, which helped his team recover from the shaky start. Gradually, Lokomotiv Kuban picked up the pace and began utilizing their trademark fast breaks. Initially, this paid off as the "railroaders" quickly cut the deficit to just five points. However, Zenit refreshed the lineup at the right moment and pulled away again. Okaro White nailed a three, Alex Poythress drew fouls and hit his free throws, and Georgy Zhbanov closed the quarter with a perfect shot from beyond the arc — 29:18.
The opening stretch was filled with stoppages and fouls: Zenit committed 8, and Loko 9. At the beginning of the second quarter, the hosts fouled more frequently, quickly reaching five team fouls and handing their opponents several free-throw opportunities — though Lokomotiv didn't always capitalize. For instance, their guard Tahjere McCall missed both of his attempts. A brilliant start to the quarter from Alexey Shved helped Zenit maintain and slightly grow their lead — the experienced guard confidently scored from close range and was solid at the line. Then Bacon took over again. The Zenit star was everywhere: hitting threes and mid-range shots, sinking free throws, and even coming up big on defense with a powerful block. Thanks largely to his standout performance, Zenit extended the lead to 18 points. However, just before halftime, the visitors managed to slightly reduce the gap — 56:44.
At the start of the second half, Lokomotiv tried to build on their momentum, but quickly ran into stiff resistance. Xavi Pascual’s team responded well to every attack, shutting down all paths to the basket. Bacon continued his dominance at the CSC Arena, once again surpassing the 30-point mark for the game. Heading into the final quarter, Zenit held a comfortable lead — 82:65.
In the fourth quarter, the outcome was no longer in doubt. Zenit confidently closed out the game, securing their 24th straight win, thus tying the VTB United League record for longest unbeaten streak. The coveted 100th point came from a fast break by Georgy Zbanov, assisted by Shved. Final score — 106:79.
Zenit’s top scorers were Dwayne Bacon (33 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block), Trent Frazier (24 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound) and Okaro White (15 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal).
The second game of the semifinal series will also take place on Zenit’s home court, scheduled for May 7 at 20:00 St. Petersburg time. Tickets are available on the club’s official website.
