UNICS Kazan defeated Zenit St. Petersburg at home, 94-60, in the VTB United League season opener.
Top Scorers
UNICS: Stephane Lasme (20+7 reb+5 blk), Quino Colom (16+10 ast), Kostas Kaimakoglou (15), Anton Ponkrashov (11+5 ast)
Zenit: Drew Gordon (22+10 reb), Demonte Harper (9), Nicolas Laprovittola (9)
Story
Facing a depleted Zenit squad, UNICS stormed to a 28-15 lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back. The home team dominated every facet of the game, outscoring the visitors 33-9 from beyond the arc and 48-30 inside the paint.
Led by forward Stephane Lasme’s five blocks, Kazan held the visitors to a measly 31% shooting from the field. Zenit forward Sergey Karasev struggled in his first competitive game since shoulder surgery in the summer, shooting only 2-8 from the field for five points.
UNICS, meanwhile, shot 56% as a team and had four players in double figures. Lasme was sensational in his Kazan debut, adding 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals to his five-block tally.
Lousy 3-point shooting doomed the visitors in the first half. After knotting the score at 8-8 behind a Kyle Kuric ‘3’, Zenit couldn’t get another 3-pointer to drop, missing nine in a row in the 1st and 2nd quarters.
Kazan led by 21 at the break and continued to build its lead in the second half. Second-year point guard Quino Colom played a huge role in the home team’s success, dishing out 10 assists to go with 16 points. As a team, UNICS recorded 27 assists to only 11 for Zenit.
Star
Stephane Lasme. 20 points, seven rebounds, five blocks, two assists, two steals. Lasme joined UNICS from the D-League this summer and put on a show in his first game in the VTB United League. Zenit had no answers for the 34-year-old Gabonese big man as he shot 9-11 from the field and finished with an efficiency rating of 32.
Stat
3-23. Playing without big man Shayne Whittington and defensive specialist Evgeny Voronov, Zenit needed to score a lot of points on the perimeter. Unfortunately for Vasily Karasev, his men went a lousy 13% from beyond the arc, dooming any hope of a season-opening victory.
Quotes
UNICS head coach Dimitris Priftis:
– Naturally, I’m pleased with how we played. We didn’t play the ideal brand of basketball I was looking for today, but it was a quality performance. I want to thank my men. They executed the game plan.
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
– We have big issues with the roster. There are a lot of injuries. But from my end, we looked like 40-year veterans hobbling around on canes. I’m not at all pleased with how we played. But last season we struggled at times, too. We need to keep working.
Dunk
Kostas Kaimakoglou with a one-handed dunk 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GBS2rx1PcE
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) October 5, 2017
Up Next
UNICS: October 15 vs. Kalev
Zenit: October 8 vs. Parma
