In a battle between two Russian giants, Zenit Saint Petersburg (8-3) managed to defend their home fortress, overcoming CSKA Moscow (8-3), 81-68 (21-21, 21-14, 23-18, 16-15), and skidding the Army club's 4-game winning streak in the VTB United League.
Jordan Loyd-led Zenit ran away from their opponents in the second quarter, arranging an instant 6-0 run (40-30). Xavi Pascual's squad successfully opened the third period as well, gaining a 14-point advantage (49-35).
Their lead grew up to the apex of 17 points (56-39), while both clubs were divided by 12 (65-53) before the decisive 10 minutes of the game.
Even though Joel Bolomboy and Nikola Milutinov cut CSKA's deficit to 6 points (68-74) with 2 minutes to go in the fourth, Zenit responded with Alex Poythress and Billy Baron's buckets to seal the deal.
Jordan Loyd was very effective for Zenit, registering 19 points (4/7 2PT, 3/4 3PT, 2/2 FT), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, 5 steals, and 28 PIR.
Billy Baron aided him with 20 points (6/8 3PT, 2/2 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers, and 17 PIR.
Nikola Milutinov was the top performer on the losing side, posting 16 points (6/8 2PT, 4/5 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 turnovers, and 18 PIR.
Zenit: Billy Baron 20, Jordan Loyd 17 (5 AST, 5 REB, 5 STL), Jordan Mickey 11, Mateusz Ponitka 8 (5 REB, 6 AST), Alex Poythress 8 (6 REB).
CSKA: Nikola Milutinov 16 (8 REB), Alexey Shved 10, Joel Bolomboy 9 (7 REB), Marius Grigonis 9, Nikita Kurbanov 8, Tornike Shengelia 8 (4 REB).
Highlights
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