Zenit beat Zielona gora at home – 83:74 (19:21, 17:16, 20:13, 27:24).
Top scorers
Zenit: Billy Baron (26 + 5 assists + 4 steals), Alex Poythress (14 + 5 rebounds), Mateusz Ponitka (13), K.C. Rivers (10).
Zielona Gora: Gabriel Lundberg (27), Geoffrey Grosselle (17 + 10 пrebounds), Marcel Ponitka (11).
Story
Zenit started the season with a confident victory over the powerful Khimki. It is not surprising that it was Zenit that was considered the favorite in the home game against Zielona Gora. The first minutes of the meeting confirmed the opinion. Thanks to Rivers and Zakharov the hosts seized the lead – 8:2. But the team wasn’t able to consolidate the progress. The guests became aggressive at defense, made 5 steals, and forced Zenit to make mistakes. In the offense, Zielona Gora scored several three-pointers and ran well into fast breaks. All this allowed the last ones to win the first quarter of the game – 21:19.
The second quarter did not make any significant changes in the game, none of the teams could break away. As a result, the guests left for a long break holding the leadership again. Led by Gabriel Lundberg, who scored 14 points, they managed to keep the minimum advantage – 37:36.
Key moment
The fate of the meeting was decided only at the end of it. Billy Baron became the hero of Zenit once again. Three-pointers of the hosts’ guard allowed the team to be 8 points ahead three minutes before the final buzzer – 74:66. Another accurate shot of Baron from beyond the arch finally killed the intrigue 28 seconds before the end – 83:72.
Hero
Same as during the previous game Billy Baron showed himself to be a real leader. The American got involved in the game in the most crucial moment. In the final quarter, he shot five three-pointers at once and manifested the most to the decisive acceleration of the hosts. Baron also proved to be the most efficient player of the game: he added 5 assists and 4 steals to 26 scored points.
Stat
46 against 10 – Zenit’s bench turned out to be much more efficient in this meeting. The rotation has become one of the key factors in the final success of the hosts.
Comments
Zenit head coach Xavier Pascual:
– Firstly, we are happy to return to Sibur Arena and play with our fans’ support. It was a tight game but we knew it before the game. Our rivals are in good shape. Zielona Gora played aggressively and careful in defense. In the second half we improved both our offense and defense. That helped us break the game and win.
Zielona Gora head coach Zan Tabak:
– We lost control over the game in the beginning of the third. Lots of reasons – rotation mistakes and concentration loss. Our opponents pulled themselves together, found the rhythm, energy, contact. I repeat, we had rotation mistakes.
Next
Zenit: September 26 at Kalev
Zielona Gora: September 26 vs Lokomotiv-Kuban
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