By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Zenit St Petersburg is back on the winning track as they held on to beat reigning champs Anadolu Efes Istanbul 76-67 in Round 23 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and sweep their regular-season series. With this win, Zenit improves to a 13-7 record, jumping back on the fourth position in the standings.
Alex Poythress posted a new EuroLeague career-high performance with 21 points and 9 rebounds for a total PIR of 27 to lead the efforts of Xavi Pascual’s team.
Notably, coach Pascual also extended a rare streak against Efes playcaller Ergin Ataman, with a 12-1 win record in their EuroLeague meetings so far.
“It was a game that both teams could have played better, I think, in different situations”, said Pascual. “We have to be happy tonight. It was an important game for us and we have to continue.”
Jordan Mickey and Billy Baron emerged with 15 and 13 points apiece and Jordan Loyd picked up 8 points and 8 assists for Zenit. The home team used a strong defensive effort in the third period, keeping Efes at just six points scored to take a double-digit lead for the first time in the game (52-42, 30′).
In the wake of Shane Larkin’s absence (injured late in the game against Panathinaikos), Vasilije Micic stepped up for Efes with 22 points, pushing the visitors to a comeback effort that fell short in the end.
Krunoslav Simon followed with 17 points and Adrien Moerman tapped 11. Efes has now lost three of its last four games to fall to a 10-11 record in the EuroLeague standings.
Photo credit: EuroLeague