Zenit Saint Petersburg beat Runa Moscow away in the match of the first phase of the regular championship of the VTB United League.
The most productive player on the winning team was American guard Trent Fraser, who almost scored a double-double: 24 points and 9 assists.
The “Championship” prepared material based on the results of the last game.
Preface
BC Runa player Iliá Popov
Photo: VTB United League
The teams approached the match with radically different series. If Zenit had four wins in a row before the match in Moscow, the Vikings lost three games in a row.
Zenit already had an unpleasant experience with another debutant in the league: Uralmash. In the first match of the season, the St. Petersburg team sensationally lost to the Urals on their own field. “Runa”, in turn, recently “bit” CSKA, losing in the end to the “CSKA” team, and in the first half of November defeated the current champion UNICS on the road.
Before the throw-in, Zenit defender Kyle Kuric admitted that Runa is an excellent team that shows a high level of basketball. At the same time, he noted that he did not expect an easy ride, but added that the residents of St. Petersburg had time to prepare.
“Runa” played on equal terms against the St. Petersburg team
Nikola Ivanovic, BC Runa player (with ball)
Photo: VTB United League
Despite some skepticism about Runa’s prospects in this match, the Muscovites started very well and gave no reason to remember that they were debutants in the league. The Vikings quickly fouled out Zenit center Artyom Klimenko, who entered the starting lineup to relieve Boyan Dubljevic and Vince Hunter, who was injured in the previous game against Nizhny Novgorod. However, the Russian committed three fouls in less than three minutes of the first quarter and deservedly went to the bench, forcing Javier Pascual to release Dublevich much earlier than expected.
The match was on a collision course, which could not help but please the fans. “Runa” faced “Zenith” with dignity, did not try to play as number two and dry up the game. Nikola Ivanovich had no qualms about throwing three-pointers in your face, and Danila Pokhodyaev followed the same trend, making six of seven three-pointers. Jeremiah Hill played the role of creator, carried the ball a lot, and tallied nine assists as a result. Alex Tyus and Ilya Popov, in turn, ruined the life of the “great” Zenit as much as they could.
It was very nice to look at Runa precisely through the prism of the fact that the team is not afraid to at least try to play on equal terms with an opponent who is obviously stronger and more experienced. It is clear that if a Super League style team were to play against Zenit, they would hardly encounter such resistance. Yes, the current “Runa” was created practically from scratch, but now we can say with confidence that coach Erturul Erdogan was able to create a combat-ready team out of nothing, which immediately caught the wave of the VTB United League.
Zenit pressed in the last quarter with experience
Sergei Karasev, BC Zenit player
Photo: VTB United League
“Runa” did not let go of the Saint Petersburg team for three quarters, but in the last ten minutes the Vikings seemed to have lost strength. The locals began to suffer many losses, not everything went well in the positional attack, the shots did not fly at the same percentage as before. Zenit continued to take advantage of its chances and took the matter to victory.
Pascual’s team is still in fever, the blue and white still cannot count on four starting players: Ertel, Zhbanov, Morman and Toropov. Vince Hunter himself played injured today. However, on the other hand, this has its advantages. For example, Timofey Gerasimov has the opportunity to prove himself in Ertel’s absence and, in fact, he shows himself quite well. Today he had his most productive and useful game of the season, recording eight points, four assists and a steal. Well, Trent Fraser, in turn, once again shows that he has no intention of moving into Ertel’s shadow. He played another game as the leader of the team.
“Zenith” has gained momentum, but is the magic of “Rune” over?
Trent Fraser, BC Zenit player (with the ball)
Photo: VTB United League
After a slow start to the season, Zenit really picked up a decent pace. Pascual’s team has five wins in a row, and ahead they will face their rival in the first match of the Championship: Uralmash. Then there will be Samara and then the match against CSKA in Moscow. There is no exact information about the return of injured players, so the St. Petersburg team must retain its already limited squad until the meeting with the army team.
Runa, for its part, has already lost four in a row, but that does not mean that it will continue to fall in the rankings. It is normal for favorites to stagnate at the beginning of the season and then recover their positions. And it is also normal for the “dark horses” to cause some sensations, but then experience a decline and the classification levels out. You definitely don’t need to worry about Zenit or Runa. The Vikings have an ambitious coach who will figure out how to get his team out of this situation. Next, the Muscovites will have several matches with direct competitors in the standings, in which they will be able to show themselves and rehabilitate themselves in front of the fans for their recent failures.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS