VEF Riga, Latvia vs. «Zenit» St. Petersburg, Russia

Zenit defeated VEF on the road, 95-76. Apart from a brief stretch in the 3rd quarter, Zenit was in control for the entire contest, cruising to a 3rd-straight win.

Recap
Zenit brought ex-VEF players Janis Timma and Kaspars Berzins to Riga, though not Evgeny Valiev. The Russian big man suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the week, leaving the visitors short-handed in the frontcourt.

VEF also had reason for concern. Entering Sunday's contest, Riga had won only once on its home court and sat 14th in the standings, in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

Berzins made his first start for Zenit, repaying Vasily Karasev's trust with eight points in the opening period. Ryan Toolson also provided firepower off the bench. VEF coach Janis Gailitis tried to get his men to lock in defensively, but the Latvians had few answers for the visitors. The Blue-White-Sky Blues dominated the rebounding battle (15-6) to pick up a 30-16 lead after 10 minutes.

During the 2nd quarter, Zenit kept the home team at bay. Berzins continued his terrific play, finishing the first half with 16 points and five rebounds. At halftime, the visitors enjoyed a 13-point advantage.

VEF opened the second half on a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to four. Karasev also earned an ejection for arguing with the refs, leaving the visitors without their head coach. But Zenit quickly responded: Pavel Antipov knocked down a '3' and followed it up with a three-point play. By the end of the period, the visitors' lead had ballooned to 18.

The home team continued to compete, but there would be no miracle comeback. Zenit picks up a third straight win and improves to 11-3.

Star Player
Pavel Antipov. The Russian forward finished with 23 points (7-10 from the field) and eight rebounds, and helped his team regain the momentum in the 3rd quarter after VEF cut the deficit to four.

Stat of the Game
62 - number of points scored by Zenit's bench. The Latvian bench scored only 38.