St. Petersburg’s Zenit secured an away victory over Vladivostok’s Dynamo, 83–72 (14–20, 19–24, 31–14, 19–14).
Main Story
The game began with the home team setting the pace. From the opening minutes, the Vladivostok team displayed excellent intensity, playing aggressive defense and punishing the St. Petersburg team for mistakes in their half-court offense. Support from the stands propelled the Far Easterners forward, and over the course of the first half, Dynamo built its lead to a solid “+14.”
Zenit spent much of the game playing catch-up, trying to turn the tide through aggressive play in the opponent’s three-point zone. However, the home team controlled the pace and went into halftime with a comfortable 11-point lead (44–33).
The Clutch Moment
The turning point came after a long break. In the third quarter, the St. Petersburg team drastically stepped up their aggression, scoring 31 points in 10 minutes. Zenit seized the initiative and took the lead.
In the final quarter, the visitors didn’t let up. A powerful run in the second half (50–28) allowed the blue-white-and-blue team not only to erase the deficit but also to turn a tough game into a double-digit victory.
X-Factor
Zenit’s dominance in the paint and their team-oriented basketball. The St. Petersburg team posted a high field goal percentage on 2-point shots (60% compared to 52% for Dynamo) and outpaced their opponent in assists—24 to 17. This allowed them to compensate for their low free-throw accuracy (62%) and turn the tide of a game that had been going poorly.
Interesting Facts
Zenit trailed by 14 points at one point during the game but managed to show character and pull off the road win in the Far East.
The key stretch of the game was the third 10-minute period, which the blue-white-and-blues won 31–14.
Press Conference
Dynamo Head Coach Sergei Kozin:
– We started the first half pretty well and built a double-digit lead. At one point, our lead reached 14 points.
I told my team that we needed to play very fast-paced basketball. We managed to do that in the first half: we went on fast breaks, scored easy points in the paint, and made three-pointers. Smith hit some important three-pointers, and that’s how we built our lead.
In the second half, Zenit managed to slow us down. We weren’t always able to defend effectively; our opponents were regularly getting to the free-throw line, and we couldn’t speed up the game.
At one point, we ran into foul trouble. Crowley picked up his fourth personal foul, so we couldn’t use him as much as we would have liked. Smith had some trouble with his leg.
Unfortunately, we lack the depth in our rotation to maintain a high tempo throughout the entire game. We faltered in the second half.
At one point, we had a chance to get back into the game, but Zenit is an experienced team with quality players. Our opponent began to find weaknesses in our defense, which had performed well in the first half.
In some cases, we ran out of steam; in others, we made mistakes and got players into foul trouble. As a result, we weren’t able to make it a nail-biter.
Zenit Head Coach Duško Ivanović:
– This is truly an important victory for us, since we got off to a very poor start. In the first 20 minutes, Dynamo showed that they’re a good team. Our opponent played faster, more aggressively, and transitioned well from defense to offense. We faced serious problems in the first half of the game.
I especially want to point out that some of our players were thinking about fatigue. Yes, we had a difficult flight, but as far as I’m concerned, fatigue doesn’t exist. It’s a matter of psychology and mental attitude.
The way we played in the third and fourth quarters clearly demonstrates this. It all depends on your mental state, concentration, and the right attitude.
This game should serve as a good lesson for us ahead of our next matches.
Top Performers
Dynamo: Daquan Smith (22), Nate Pollard (18 + 11 rebounds), Isaiah Crowley (11 + 8 rebounds), Daniel Utomi (10)
Zenit: Andrey Martyuk (20 + 6 rebounds), Georgy Zhbanov (12 + 7 assists), Ike Iroegbu (11), Nate Mason (11).
Up Next:
Dynamo: Against Enisey, in Krasnoyarsk, November 7.
Zenit: Against CSKA, in Moscow, November 8.
Highlights:
