The return to victories and her good performances in the Euroleague was celebrated by Zenith, with the Russians prevailing more easily than the final shows 76-67 of Efes in St. Petersburg and overtake – even temporarily – him Olympic in third place in the standings.
Thanks to the excellent second half, his team performed Xavi Pascual reached 13 wins in the season (13-7), leaving the “red and whites” at 12-7 with less play.
Top for the winners was Alex Poithres, who was on a great night finishing the game with 21 points (9/11 double) and 9 rebounds, while important solutions were offered by Jordan Mickey and Billy Baron with 11 points each.
For the European champion this was the her third defeat in the last four games, remaining in eighth place with its record falling at 10-11. The one who stood out for Ergin Ataman’s team was Vassilie Mitsic with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, having 7 (!) errors.
The match:
A good start in the match for Efes, which was preceded by an ally in its defense 6-3 in the first four minutes. After a sluggish start to the match, Zenit ran a fast 9-0 for 12-6 at (6 ‘). Simon and Bobua not only “gnawed” the difference for the Turks, on the contrary they closed Efes at +1 (17-18) at the end of the first period.
The derby continued in the second ten minutes, where the lead changed hands a total of six times. With Moerman and Misic easily finding their way to the Russian basket, the European champions were 36-32 ahead in 19 ‘, but Karashev and Poithres’ basket sent Zenit to the locker room. with short head (37-36).
The tough defense of the hosts, combined with the failure and the many mistakes of Efes, tilted the scales in favor of Zenit in the third period, laying a solid foundation for the pink card. Specifically, the Russians only accepted six points in ten minutes (!), raising the difference in double digits (54-42).
With Poithres and Mickey leading the effort, Zenit even reached +17 (65-48 in 35 ‘), effectively clearing the case for victory. Efes only managed to reduce to seven points (72-65 and 74-67), with the end of the match finding Zenit won 76-67.
The quarters: 17-18, 37-36, 52-42, 76-67
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