By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
For three quarters, Zenit was more than feisty playing at home in Saint Petersburg, but FC Barcelona was simply better and got the 87-63 win.
Thanks to an 11-3 run at the start of the last period, which made the score 70-59, the guests made things simple. To be exact, the partial score during the last quarter was 28-7 in favor of Barcelona as Zenit collapsed.
Of course, Kyle Kuric, with 24 points, was the key for the win. “We just played together,” he said after the game. “We played tough defense, shared the ball, started rebounding, started getting stops, got more relaxed, and let the game come to us. We’re getting there, but we’re still a new team, so we’re learning to play together. It was only our second EuroLeague game, so it’s still early. We will get healthy and play better.”
It’s all about defense
According to coach Svetislav Pesic, however, the most important thing is defense: “In my team, it’s not possible to play basketball without defense. We have many new players, and we want to improve our continuity on defense, it needs time. We worked hard, and the players understand how important it is to play defense.”
Nikola Mirotic (17 p.), Brandon Davies (10 p.) and Victor Claver (12 p.) also did damage for the winning side.
Despite missing Gustavo Ayon and Andrey Zubkov due to injuries, Zenit proved to be quite a tough nut to crack. The hosts finished the first quarter with a 20-19 lead, and until the end of the third, they trailed by three (59-56).
Coach Joan Plaza’s players didn’t have any gas left in the tank to finish the game the proper way. Evgeny Voronov, with 10 points, was the only player who scored in double-digits.
“We were able to compete with Barca for three quarters, but we fell dramatically in the last one,” admitted Plaza. “We made nine turnovers more than our opponent, and that means that Barcelona had nine possessions more than us. When you play against a team like this, you have to be strong enough to stand your ground when your opponent is making so many good shots. Thanks to our fans for coming to support us.”
On the other hand, FC Barcelona was missing Cory Higgins, and coach Pesic used 19 years old Argentinian Leandro Bolmaro for 17 minutes. He scored five points.
Photo credit: EuroLeague