Lokomotiv Kuban beat Zenit on the road in Game 5 of the 3rd Place Series – 84:76 (19:20, 26:20, 18:17, 21:19).
Game progress
The hosts started the better of the two sides, with their bigmen finding plenty of room in the paint and pushing out to a 20:10 lead in the first quarter.
Loko regrouped after a timeout from Tomislav Tomovic. Tough defense and quick transitions sparked the response, and a three-pointer from Ivan Samoylenko at the start of the second quarter gave Loko first lead – 22:20.
From there the teams swapped roles, with Loko looking to pull away and Zenit for most quarter. Loko still led at the break, but the deficit was 5 – 45:40.
Key moment
Zenit kept chasing throughout the second half. With 4 minutes left, Andrei Martiuk cut the deficit to one possession – 73:76. The hosts stayed close the rest of the way, but solid defense and clutch shooting from Patrick Miller and Mike Moore helped Loko close out the win.
X-Factor
Loko’s perimeter defense was the key – the hosts made just 3 of 23 three-pointers (13%).
Facts
This is Loko’s second VTB League bronze.
Zenit lost the Semifinals and the 3rd Place Series after leading 2-0 in both.
The 3rd Place Series every game went into a clutch and the point differential was a maximum of 8 points.
Andrei Vorontsevich led the League in games played this season, appearing in all 56 of Zenit’s games.
Leaders
Zenit: Xavier Moon (23 + 6 assists), Andre Roberson (16 + 9 rebounds), Andrei Martiuk (15 + 6 rebounds), Trent Frazier (12 + 5 assists)
Lokomotiv Kuban: Patrick Miller (23 + 7 assists), Jeremiah Martin (13), Vince Hunter (10), Alen Hadzibegovic (10)
