VTB League: Khimki makes Final Four while Zenit forces decider

Zenit St. Petersburg downed Nizhny Novgorod 76-83 on the road in VTB League action on Friday to send their quarter-final tie to a deciding game. Zenit was trailing 2-1 in the series heading to Novgorod and knew a loss would spell the end of the road. Nizhny had the home court advantage and the momentum, but the hosts failed to book their spot in the Final Four. As a result, the two clubs are the last remaining in at this stage and will play a deciding game on Monday, with Zenit surely favourites with home advantage.

In the other game on Friday, Khimki Moscow Region punched its ticket to the VTB League Final Four with an 87-89 win over Avtodor Saratov on the road. Khimki has dominated the series and took Game 3 to ensure a sweep, however the recently crowned 2015 Eurocup champions were made to work harder on Avtodor’s hardwood.

Nizhny Novgorod vs. Zenit St. Petersburg, 76-83
Zenit St. Petersburg kept its Final Four hopes alive with a series saving win. The away club shocked Nizhny to extend the tie to a fifth and final contest, which will be played May 11th. Zenit’s starters really drove the win by dropping 63 points through the nets, while the visitors looked in control and led for much of the contest.

A high scoring first quarter saw both teams pick up plenty of points in the paint, but Zenit controlled the defensive end better to lead 21-27 after ten minutes. In the second quarter Nizhny managed to stem the scoring of the away team and added another 21 points to make it 42-47 at the midway buzzer. The hosts held their momentum to win the third stanza with an 18-17 run that made it 60-64 through thirty minutes. Nizhny could not get close enough though and in the fourth act Zenit rallied with a 16-19 run that won them the game.

Dmitry Kulagin led the winning effort with 22 points and 7 rebounds, followed by Dejan Borovnjak with 17 points and Walter Hodge with 14 points and 7 assists.

Evgeni Baburin paced Nizhny with 18 points and also claimed 7 boards, while Semen Antonov and Dmitry Khvostov scored 13 points apiece.

Avtodor Saratov vs. Khimki Moscow Region, 87-89
Khimki edged Avtodor in a tight game that the hosts simply had to win. As it was Khimki came away from Saratov with the needed victory that sent the club through to the VTB League Final Four. 87% shooting from the free throw line certainly helped the visitors as they scored 20 out of 23 from the charity strip.

Avtodor snatched the first quarter, a tight period that ended with the home team leading 18-17 and on the way to the win it needed. The tables turned in the second period as Khimki hit back 19-20 to make it all square through the long break, the scoreboard reading 37-37. The visitors found the edge in the third quarter and a 23-27 run was enough to hand Khimki a 60-64 lead at the final split. Avtodor hit back in a high scoring fourth quarter, but the 27-25 streak was not enough to retake the lead or win the game.

Paul Davis was huge for Khimki, he drained 100% of his free throws on the way to a game high 28 points, while also pulling 7 rebounds off the glass. Tyrese Rice was spectacular as well as he accumulated 27 points, with the pair ending the game as the only double digit scorers in the winning team.

Five players broke ten points for Avtodor, Aleksei Vzdykhalkin leading the way with 19, while Kyrylo Fesenko had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Courtney Fortson and Travis Peterson scored 16 points each, and lastly Jeremy Chappell added 13 points.