CSKA defeated Zenit on the road in WINLINE Game of the Week – 85:84 (24:25, 16:18, 20:17, 25:24).
Game progress
From the very first minutes, the game began to live up to the fans’ expectations. By the middle of the second quarter, the lead had changed 16 times and the score difference was maximum 4 points. The St. Petersburg team’s run began with Alex Poythress slam, and after this Zenit’s lead became double digits for the first time – 43:33.
But the Moscow team quickly recovered and took control before halftime. The guests had reduced the deficit to just 3 points – 40:43. At the start of the third quarter, Ivan Ukhov’s three-pointer helped to regain the lead – 45:43.
Key moment
Vladislav Emchenk put Zenit ahead – 83;82. Andrey Vorontsevich further extended the hosts’ lead with free-thorws – 84;82. But the Moscow team had the last word. Anton Astapkovich’s three-pointer in the final second gave CSKA the win in this tense game – 85:84.
X-factor
Anton Astapkovich was the hero. CSKA forward scored the winning shot and also became the most effective player (28 eff.points). In total, the Russian player scored 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
Facts
The lead changed 23 times during the game.
Semen Antonov scored 3,000 points in his VTB League career. He became the second player in the League history to achieve this milestone (the first was Alexey Shved). After today’s game, CSKA forward has 3,006 points.
Zenit was missing three key players in this game: Trent Frazier, Sergey Karasev, and Nenad Dimitrijevic.
Aleksandr Shcherbenev had a brilliant game. Zenit guard set new career-high 21 points and 5 three-pointers.
Leaders
Zenit: Aleksandr Shcherbenev (21), Alex Poythress (16), Andrey Vorontsevich (16), Vladislav Emchenko (13 + 6 assists)
CSKA: Melo Trimble (17 + 5 assists), Anton Astapkovich (15 + 8 rebounds + 6 assists), Antonius Cleveland (10 + 6 assists), Livio Jean-Charles (10)
What’s next
Zenit: October 15 on the road versus Samara
CSKA: October 15 at home against Pari NN.
