«Enisey» Krasnoyarsk, Russia vs. «Zenit» St. Petersburg, Russia

Zenit St. Petersburg defeated Enisey Krasnoyarsk in overtime, 108-104. After 40 minutes of back-and-forth basketball, Cameron Jones and Pavel Spiridonov helped Zenit seize control in overtime and pull out an important road win.

Intro
Zenit was missing three key players for this game in Krasnoyarsk. Kyle Landry rolled his ankle in the Eurocup, while D.J. Stephens and Artem Komolov fell victim to the flu. Despite limited options, Vasily Karasev decided not to call on any youth players, preferring to go with a smaller, but more experienced rotation.

Krasnoyarsk had problems of its own. The team was coming off an exhausting road trip that featured stops in Turkey, Belgium and Kazakhstan.

The visitors controlled the early going as Andrey Koshcheev and Dejan Borovnjak gave Zenit the lead. Krasnoyarsk didn't need long to respond. Donell Cooper got his teammates involved on offense, helping Enisey score several easy baskets. Andrey Komarovsky also did a good job passing the ball for the home team, handing out three assists late in the 1st quarter. Thanks to his efforts, Enisey took a 28-22 lead at the end of the period.

Zenit guard Walter Hodge was more aggressive in the 2nd quarter, slicing through Enisey's defense in the paint. Krasnoyarsk got its points from the perimeter, while also enjoying a healthy advantage on the offensive glass. But the visitors failed to build on their 1st-quarter advantage. Hodge was too much, helping Zenit tie the game at halftime, 48-48.

Enisey held the momentum early in the 3rd quarter, opening on an 8-0 run. The visitors, however, refused to fold. Borovnjak led the Zenit attack, scoring 12 points in the period to help St. Petersburg erase the eight-point deficit and tie the game once more, 73-73, entering the 4th period.

Turning Point
Everything seemed to be going Enisey's way in the 4th quarter. First, Zenit lost Andrey Koshcheev to an injury, then Walter Hodge fouled out. But Pavel Spiridonov, who replaced Koshcheev, came up huge, canning two 3-pointers to help the visitors to a 93-90 lead.
Krasnoyarsk had a chance to go in front at the free-throw line, but Kikanovic and Lesic only managed to convert two of four attempts.

After Donell Cooper missed a potential game-tying bucket with four seconds left, it looked like Enisey was out of luck. However, a quick foul and 1-2 trip at the line from Zenit guard Cameron Jones, gave Enisey one extra life. Cooper took full advantage, sprinting down the court to score at the buzzer and send the game to overtime, 94-94.

Cooper was terrific in the overtime period, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and scoring on a layup. But it wasn't quite enough to bring the home team a win. Zenit played better as a team, leading throughout the overtime. Pavel Spiridonov and Cameron Jones sealed the win at the free-throw line, giving the visitors a hard-fought 108-104 victory.

Star of the Game
Pavel Spiridonov. His appearance late in regulation after Koshcheev had to leave the game proved to be a huge momentum shift. The young Russian forward drained several big shots in regulation before leading his team to the win in overtime.

Stat of the Game
12 - number of lead changes. There were also 13 ties and neither team ever led by more than eight points.

Quotes
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
- We were in a very tough situation. We've got a flu epidemic going around. Kuzyakin and Gordeev played with a fever, Borovnjak had trouble with his back and Koscheev is dealing with an Achilles heel injury and made things worse today. As for the game, the only thing that I want to say is a big thank you to the guys. They played like warriors.

Enisey head coach Stevan Karadzic:
- Congratulations to Zenit on the win. We really wanted to win, but the players didn't have enough concentration in the final seconds. Cooper missed under the basket and at the crucial moment Kikanovic and Yakovenko committed fouls on offense. It's too bad that we couldn't take advantage of our opponent's weakened condition.

Top Performers
Enisey: Donell Cooper - 20 points, eight assists, five rebounds, three steals; Sava Lesic - 14 points, 10 rebounds; Terrico White - 13 points; Andrey Komarovsky - 10 points; Alexander Pavlov - 10 points.

Zenit: Dejan Borovnjak - 24 points, 13 rebounds; Cameron Jones - 17 points, seven rebounds; Artem Vikhrov - 17 points, five rebounds; Andrey Koshcheev - 16 points, seven rebounds; Pavel Spiridonov - 15 points; Walter Hodge - 14 points, 15 assists, three steals.