Voronov's career night takes Zenit to Game 3

Zenit St. Petersburg survived a do-or-die situation in the 7DAYS EuroCup Quarterfinals by downing Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia 91-77 at home in Game 2 of their best-of-three series on Friday. The series is tied at 1-1 and Reggio Emilia hosts do-or-die Game 3 next Wednesday. The winner will advance to the EuroCup Semifinals for the first time in club history. Evgeny Voronov led the winners with 22 points and 8 rebounds, new EuroCup career highs for him. Kyle Kuric added 16 points, Malcolm Griffin 12 and Marko Simonovic 11 for Zenit. Manu Markoishvili and Julian Wright led Reggio Emilia with 13 points apiece. Jalen Reynolds and Chris Wright each had 12 for the guests. James White shined early to give Reggio Emilia a 2-9 lead. Zenit found a go-to guy in Voronov, who got help from Griffin and Kuric to give Zenit a 20-18 lead after 10 minutes. Julian Wright and Markoishvili took over for a 29-35 Reggio Emilia edge that Zenit cut to 35-39 at halftime. Simonovic and Sergey Karasev stepped up after the break to give Zenit the lead, 46-45. Kuric and Voronov helped the hosts to extend their margin to 64-60 after three quarters. Simonovic, Voronov and Shayne Whittington made it a double-digit game, 82-70, and Zenit kept pushing until the final buzzer.

Amedeo Della Valle got Reggio Emilia going with free throws and Karasev hit a jumper for Zenit. White and Markoishvili combined for all the points in a 0-7 run that boosted Reggio Emilia's lead to 2-9. Riccardo Cervi followed a layup with a jump hook but Voronov had 5 points in a 7-0 run that got Zenit within 11-13. Reynolds and Drew Gordon traded jump hooks and a put-back layup by an unstoppable Voronov tied it at 15-15. Griffin and Kuric buried jumpers and a free throw by Karasev gave Zenit a 20-18 lead after 10 minutes. A layup-plus-free throw by Pedro Llompart and a reverse by White restored a 21-23 Reggio Emilia edge early in the second quarter. Scottie Reynolds and Gordon stepped up for Zenit but Julian Wright followed a jump hook with a tip-in and Markoishvili downed his second triple for a 27-30 score. Reynolds kept pacing Zenit with a coast-to-coast layup but Chris Wright hit a jumper and Markoishvili added a three-point play to boost the guests' lead to 29-35. Kuric and Evgeny Valiev made free throws but White and Julian Wright kept Reggio Emilia ahead, 35-39, at halftime.

Markoishvili scored down low soon after the break but a 6-0 run that Simonovic capped with consecutive layups tied the game at 41-41. Della Valle and Chris Wright answered for Reggio Emilia but free throws by Simonovic and Karasev let Zenit regain the lead, 46-45. Voronov took over with a layup and a three-pointer but Chris Wright and Leonardo Candi kept the guests within 56-54. Kuric buried a three-pointer and followed Valiev's jumper with a layup-plus-free throw that boosted the hosts' lead to 64-60 after 30 minutes. A jumper by Julian Wright and free throws by Reynolds tied the game, 64-64, early in the fourth quarter. It didn't last long, however, as Simonovic and a red hot Voronov fueled a 10-2 run that gave Zenit a 74-66 margin with more than 6 minutes left. Shayne Whittington followed a layup with a triple that made it a double-digit game, 82-70. Reggio Emilia tried to change things but Griffin took over in the final minutes to make sure Zenit stayed alive in the competition.