«Tsmoki-Minsk» Minsk, Belarus vs. «Zenit» St. Petersburg, Russia

Zenit pulled out a 79-71 win on the road in Minsk, defeating an upstart Tsmoki-Minsk squad. Both teams came into the game undefeated, but St. Petersburg dealt Minsk its firstloss by pulling away in the 3rd quarter and holding on for victory in a wild finish.

Intro
Sunday's game excited a lot of interest in the Belarusian capital. Tsmoki opened the regular season with two wins on the road, the team's first 2-0 start in the VTB United League. Zenit was also undefeated, boasting a 3-0 record.

The 1st quarter was closely contested. Neither team led by more than five points with Tsmoki ending the period on top, 24-21.
Garrett Stutz was dominant down low in the first half for Tsmoki, scoring 17 points in 20 minutes. The home team threatened to pull away several times, but a Ryan Toolson '3' to end the half kept Zenit within striking distance, 41-37 in favor of Tsmoki.

Anton Pushkov and Andrey Koshcheev helped Zenit sieze the momentum in the 3rd quarter and shut down Tsmoki's interior offense. The home team went scoreless for five minutes in the period, allowing Zenit to grab a seven-point advantage entering the fourth.

Turning Point
Tsmoki's 3-point shooting helped cut the deficit to three points with two minutes left to play. The Belarusians had a chance to get even closer, but a Timma block on Stutz in the paint and fast break the other way gave Zenit a five-point lead. Tsmoki also failed to score on its next possession, giving the ball back to the Russians. After a Toolson miss from outside, Zabian Dowdell snatched the offensive board and passed back to Toolson on the perimeter, who delivered on his second attempt to put Zenit on top by eight with a minute to play.

Star of the Game
Janis Timma. The Latvian forward hit several big shots, played sticky defense and collected nine rebounds.

Stat of the Game
12. Zenit outscored Tsmoki 20-8 in the 3rd quarter. The other three quarters were much closer (24-21, 17-16 and 22-22).

Quotes
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Igor Grishchuk:
- Zenit played well in the decisive 3rd quarter. Our collapse during that quarter was psychological. As for Ulyanko, he couldn't play because of his back. It's unclear yet how serious it is. I'd also like to thank the fans. It would be great to have crowds like that all season. For our part, we'll try to win every game.

Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
- This was a tough game with the outcome decided in the final minutes. Tsmoki played quality basketball and the coaching staff deserves credit. It's clear that Minsk's two wins against strong opponents were no fluke. We knew it wouldn't be easy. Plus, we gave up a lot of points in the first half. Fortunately, we improved on defense in the second half.

Stats