Zenit beat Astana at home – 85:52 (27:14, 11:13, 23:6, 24:19).
Top scorers
Zenit: Kevin Pangos (14+9 assists), Anton Pushkov (13+6 rebounds), Andrey Zubkov (10+9 rebounds)
Astana: Michael Thompson (16+5 rebounds), Devyn Marble (13), Adonis Thomas (10)
Story
Saint Petersburg won all 4 games on the start of the season and were up to continue the winning streak. In the first quarter they managed to gain double digit lead. In the second quarter Astana improved the defense while Zenit lost their aim, even first quarter heroes Austin Hollins and Kevin Pangos couldn’t prove themselves. Zenit’s lead remained double figures but wasn’t devastating by the half break – 38:27.
Дмитрий Хвостов вернулся после травмы и в своей первой игре сезона выдал потрясающий аллей-уп на Антона Пушкова 😱 pic.twitter.com/jTd0KcHi7f
— VTB League (@VTBUL) November 1, 2020
However, the third was a disaster for Astana. Zenit started with 8:0 run where Anton Pushkov and Kevin Pangos took their parts and after Vitaly Fridzon three the gap was increased to 20 points – 49:29. Zenit performed lock-down defense allowing the opponents to score only 6 points. The last quarter was a formality. Zenit take 5th consecutive victory and still heading the standings.
Hero
Kevin Pangos. The Canadian guard became Zenit’s leader at scoring and was 1 step away from double-double with only 24 minutes on the court.
Stat
52 points – Zenit show best defense in the season among all League’s teams.
Comments
Zenit head coach Xavi Pascual:
– Thanks to the fans for being with us. We are glad to get back to the game after 24 days. This is a perfect feeling, we were all looking forward to play at Sibur Arena with our fans. The game went well, we were good at defense all game long. The main thing is that we followed the game plan. There were some mistakes at offense. However, everyone showed dedication and made lots of efforts, that wasn’t easy after such a pause.
Astana head coach Emil Raikovikj:
– Congratulations to Zenit on the victory. There was no feeling that our rivals haven’t played for more than 3 weeks. Players were energetic and hungry, there were 100% dedication. As for us, we had a terrifying game. We didn’t manage to do anything that we planned, weren’t following the game plan. We have many things to work on including physical shape.
Next
Zenit: November 8 vs Zielona Gora
Astana: November 5 vs Kalev
Photo
