Zenit holds on to sweep Efes
Zenit St Petersburg led all game long but needed to withstand a big Anadolu Efes Istanbul rally to win 85-78 on Thursday at Sibur Arena, completing a sweep in their head-to-head regular season series. With seven players scoring in double figures, Zenit registered its fifth win in the last six games, improving to a 13-6 record, while Efes dropped to 11-10 on the season. Zenit took control and led by double digits in the first quarter before knocking down 6 triples in the second to open a 23-point margin that was still 53-31 at halftime. But Efes rallied in the third quarter behind Vasilije Micic and quickly got within 59-53 to make it a game. The visitors would never got closer than 5 points the rest of the way, however, as Billy Baron and Kevin Pangos hit important three-pointers when Efes was dangerously close. Will Thomas scored 14 points to lead Zenit and Arturas Gudaitis had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Pangos and Austin Hollins nett
Bayern fights back to overcome Zenit
FC Bayern Munich moved into fourth place by holding off Zenit St Petersburg, 82-80, in a hard-fought battle on Wednesday night. Zenit dominated the first half, leading by as much as 27-37, but Bayern fought back after the break to take its first lead midway through the third quarter. The game was tied, 56-56, after three quarters, and Bayern edged a very competitive fourth quarter to take a big win. Wade Baldwin IV led Bayern with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Jalen Reynolds and Vladimir Lucic, the latter returning from injury, both scored 15 points, and DJ Seeley added 14. Arturas Gudaitis was dominant inside for Zenit, pairing 22 points with 6 rebounds. Kevin Pangos led the offense with 17 points and 5 assists. Mateusz Ponitka scored 14 and Andrey Zubkov added 11 in defeat. The victory lifted Bayern to 12-7, while Zenit dropped to 11-6.
Zenit rolls to victory in Athens
Zenit St Petersburg continued its dominance on the road this season by beating Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 77-89 on Thursday at OAKA. Arturas Gudaitis scored a career-high 25 points as Zenit improved its record to 11-5, including 8-1 outside of Russia. Kevin Pangos added 18 points and 10 assists for his second double-double of the season, Will Thomas posted 10 points and 7 rebounds and Austin Hollins also scored 10 for the victors. Ioannis Papapetrou paced the Greens with 14 points and Dinos Mitoglou added 13 points and 7 rebounds. Panathinaikos, playing its first game under interim head coach Kostas Charalampidis, lost its third game in a row to fall to 5-12.