Zenit beat PARMA on the road in quarterfinals game 2 – 98:62 (22:10, 27:20, 24:24, 25:8).
Top scorers
PARMA: Eigirdas Zukauskas (15), Maxim Grigoryev (12), Mareks Mejeris (10 + 5 rebounds).
Zenit: Alex Poythress (16), Austin Hollins (13), Will Thomas (12 + 5 rebounds), Andrei Zubkov (12), Kevin Pangos (11 + 13 assists).
Story
As in the first game, Zenit seized the lead from the very beginning: The visitors began the game with a 12-4 run. Zenit played solid defense and limited their opponent to just 10 points in the first quarter. On offense, Will Thomas had a big game: the American hit three three-pointers and helped the visitors take a 12-point lead. PARMA had no intention of letting up without a fight – at the beginning of the second quarter, the home team picked up the pace and used Mareks Mejeris and Maxim Grigoryev for a 7-point run.
But soon the visitors again found ways to pull their opponent into a comfortable position game. Dmitriy Khvostov and Alex Poythress each had nice stretches, and at the end of the quarter Denis Zakharov, Austin Hollins, and Andrei Zubkov made important three-pointers. Long-distance shots were the visitors’ primary weapon in the first half: 8 of 14 shots on goal. By halftime, Zenit’s lead had grown to 19 points – 49-30.
In the second half, Perm were unable to turn the tide. The visitors continued to control the game and built up their lead. PARMA made their last attempt to catch up in the final minutes of the third quarter: Grigoryev, Platonov and Mejeris hit three three-pointers in a row. After that, however, the home team’s offense fell apart, while their near perfect defense helped Zenit take an easy lead to victory.
Hero
Kevin Pangos had a fantastic double-double of 11 points and 13 assists, breaking Zenit’s record for assists in the playoffs. The previous best was Zabian Dowdell, who dished out 11 assists in the game against UNICS on May 20, 2016.
Stat
Kevin Pangos’ 13 assists is a new record for Zenit in the playoffs.
Comments
PARMA head coach Kazys Maksvytis:
– The game didn’t go well for our team. We had a good attitude at the beginning of the game, but we missed a couple of our shots and Zenit took the lead and felt confident. We, on the other hand, lost that confidence. It’s a pity we ended the game like that with our home fans. Once again I want to note the fans in Perm and the atmosphere at home games, it’s one of the best I’ve been to. We have what we have, we’ll draw conclusions later.
Zenit head coach Xavi Pascual:
– Today we played a serious game both on defense and offense. The team was in good condition. We finished this game with 28 assists, also we had a very good three-point percentage. I want to congratulate PARMA and their coach for a great season. They did a very good job for the season, they went through a coronavirus and we understand perfectly that our opponent played without two key players today. We were also without Gudaitis and Ponitka. Now we will tune in for the semifinals.
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