Zenit Russia defeated Kalev Estonia on the road, 95-89 (26-25, 22-14, 17-25, 30-25).
Top Scorers
Kalev: Branko Mirkovic (22 + 6 ast + 3 stl), Cedric Simmons (20 + 11 reb), Janari Joesaar (16 + 11 reb), Kristjan Kangur (10)
Zenit: Sergey Karasev (24), Kyle Kuric (19 + 5 ast), Drew Gordon (15 + 9 reb), Marko Simonovic (15)
Story
On the ropes early in the 4th quarter, visiting Zenit rallied down the stretch to defeat Kalev, 95-89, led by Kyle Kuric’s perimeter shooting and Sergey Karasev’s 24-point outing.
Zenit has been hit hard by injuries since preseason, while also juggling a busy schedule between the EuroCup and VTB United League.
Kalev tried to take advantage, pushing the tempo at home en route to a high-scoring 1st quarter. The two teams combined for 51 points with St. Petersburg holding a slender one-point lead.
In the 2nd, Sergey Karasev and Zenit were able to slow the pace, limiting Kalev to 14 points and amassing a nine-point advantage at the end of the first half (48-39).
Leading 52-43 with 7:44 remaining in the 3rd, the wheels suddenly came off for Zenit. Kalev put together a 13-3 run to briefly seize the lead and the home team trailed by only a point entering the 4th, 65-64.
Kalev scored the first four points of the final period. With the home crowd cheering wildly, St. Petersburg was at risk of giving up another big run and losing contact in the game.
But Sergey Karasev and Kyle Kuric came though at just the right moment. Karasev hit a pair of free throws to stem the bleeding (he finished 15-15 from the line), then Kuric drained a trio of triples that gave Zenit a 76-74 lead with 6:28 remaining.
That proved to be the beginning of the end for the Estonians. Zenit went on to score 11 unanswered points, opening up a 84-74 advantage with less than four minutes to play.
The home team cut the deficit to four in the final seconds, but it wasn’t enough as Zenit held on for victory, improving to 4-1. Kalev drops to 0-5, the only team remaining in the League without a win.
Highlights
. @BC_Kalev vs. @zenitbasket one minute highlights 📹 pic.twitter.com/2OVXgC3gN0
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) November 5, 2017
Stat
17 – Kalev committed 17 turnovers to Zenit’s seven.
Quotes
Kalev head coach Alar Varrak:
– We had a chance to win today, but it wasn’t easy for us. We’ve lost each of our last three games in the final minutes and we had a lot of turnovers in the 2nd quarter. We got closer in the 3rd quarter, but missed three straight 3-pointers. At the end of the game, Zenit played better, which is why they won.
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
– This was a tough game today. Happily, we were able to turn it on at the end. We led by 10 during the game, but Kalev was able to come back in the 3rd quarter. We had to change a few things and play more aggressively, which proved to be the key to victory.
Up Next
Kalev: November 12 home vs. Astana
Zenit: November 19 away vs. Khimki
Snapshot
