2018-19Regular SeasonRound 2
October 09, 2018 CET: 20:00
Local time: 20:00 ALEKSANDAR NIKOLIC HALL

Partizan snaps home drought, sinks Zenit

Partizan NIS Belgrade picked up its first win of the 7DAYS EuroCup campaign and first home win in the competition in almost three years by downing visiting Zenit St. Petersburg 89-82 on Tuesday night in the Serbian capital. Both teams now hold 1-1 records in Group C. Among Partizan’s six double-digit scorers, Rade Zagorac had a great all-round effort with 16 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals, and Jock Landale also scored 16 in victory. Jarrod Uthoff starred with 25 points on 5-for-5 three-point shooting and 10 rebounds for the depleted visitors, who were without Brandon Jennings and Sergey Karasev.

Zenit took an early lead, but Partizan quickly rallied. Vanja Marinkovic hit a transition triple to give the hosts a 26-24 edge early in the second quarter, but that was the only shot Partizan hit from long range in the first half. Uthoff fueled a quick 0-12 run with a pair of three-pointers, and the visitors went on to lead 39-46 at halftime. Two triples from Landale got Partizan going in the third before Zagorac took over on both ends of the floor. He scored 10 points while helping Partizan take a 63-55 lead, but Philip Scrubb and Uthoff stopped the bleeding and the game was tied at 65-65 after 30 minutes. Uthoff made his fifth triple in as many attempts to give Zenit a 72-73 edge, but Aleksej Nikolic and Bandja Sy hit back-to-back downtown shots to spark a 10-0 run that opened a 85-78 lead with 1:20 to go, before Partizan held on for victory.

Game-Changing Sequence

Zenit seemed in control in the third quarter, up 42-51 when Rade Zagorac took over. It all started with his back-to-back steals that led to fast breaks, before Zagorac nailed back-to-back three-pointers. The young power forward scored 9 points and assisted on Jock Landale’s triple, having his hands in all but 2 points in a run that put Partizan up 56-55 and got the hosts believing in victory.

Movers and Shakers

There were great performers on both ends of the floor. Partizan had six scorers in double figures. Zagorac and Landale had 16 apiece, Djordje Gagic, Vanja Marinkovic and Bandja Sy each scored 12 points, and Aleksej Nikolic added 11. For Zenit, apart from Uthoff, Jalen Reynolds scored 16 points, Philip Scrubb netted 14, while Gal Mekel had 12 points and dished 10 assists.

Hidden Stat

Zenit was without Jennings and Karasev, but their new signing Gal Mekel stepped up remarkably, even in a loss. Mekel, whose signing was announced earlier in the day and did not have any five-on-five practices, got Zenit going offensively, dishing 6 assists in the first 12 minutes. He ended up playing 29 minutes and finished with 12 points and 10 assists.

Did You Notice?

It had been a while since Partizan’s last home win in the 7DAYs EuroCup. The last time it happened was December 10, 2014, when it downed another Russian side, Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd, 84-70. Partizan was on a five-game home losing streak, as it was winless on its home floor in the EuroCup last season.

Next Game

In Round 3, both teams will be on the road. Partizan travels to face Valencia Basket, while Zenit goes to Italy to visit Dolomiti Energia Trento.

Partizan NIS Belgrade celebrates (photo Dragana Stjepanovic - Partizan) - EC18
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: PEREZ, MIGUEL ANGEL; LATISEVS, OLEGS; GELLER, RENAUD
Attendance: 6200
By Quarter1234
Partizan NIS Belgrade21182624
Zenit St Petersburg22241917
End of Quarter1234
Partizan NIS Belgrade21396589
Zenit St Petersburg22466582
Partizan NIS Belgrade
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 PAIGE, MARCUS 27:17 7 2/9 1/4     3 3 6   1 1 1 3 1 3
5 SY, BANDJA 28:31 12 1/2 1/2 7/7   2 2 2     1   2 3 16
7 ARANITOVIC, ALEKSANDAR 14:30     0/1     1 1     1         -1
9 MARINKOVIC, VANJA 23:39 12 3/7 1/3 3/4   2 2 4       2 4 2 7
11 GEGIC, AMAR 4:32 1     1/2 1   1 1   1       1 2
12 VELICKOVIC, NOVICA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 PECARSKI, MARKO 6:51 2 1/1     1   1       1       4
17 GAVRILOVIC, STRAHINJA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
25 ZAGORAC, RADE 34:19 16 3/4 2/7 4/6 1 4 5 6 5 1     4 3 22
34 LANDALE, JOCK 22:57 16 5/5 2/3   1 5 6 1   1 1   2 2 22
41 GAGIC, DJORDJE 17:03 12 5/6   2/2 1 2 3 1   2     5 5 13
77 NIKOLIC, ALEKSEJ 20:21 11 2/2 1/2 4/4   1 1 2         2 5 16
Team           2 3 5     1         4
Totals 200:00 89 22/36 8/22 21/25 7 23 30 23 5 8 4 3 22 22 108
        61.1% 36.4% 84%
Head coach: CANAK, NENAD
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Zenit St Petersburg
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 REYNOLDS, JALEN 24:53 16 7/10   2/4 3 2 5 2 1 2 1 2 2 5 19
9 MEKEL, GAL 28:49 12 5/11 0/1 2/3   1 1 10   3   2 3 7 14
10 DESIATNIKOV, ANDREI 1:41                         2   -2
16 TRUSHKIN, VLADISLAV 25:04 5 1/1 1/2     2 2     1     2   3
18 VORONOV, EVGENY 23:15 4 2/5 0/4     1 1 1   2     4 1 -6
19 SIMONOVIC, MARKO 15:56 4 2/2 0/4   1 2 3 2   3         2
20 PANIN, VADIM 10:35 2 1/1 0/1     1 1 1   1     2 1 1
21 UTHOFF , JARROD 25:05 25 3/4 5/5 4/4 2 8 10       2   4 2 34
23 SCRUBB, PHILIP 34:57 14 0/2 3/5 5/7   3 3 2 3 1     2 5 18
31 VALIEV, EVGENY 9:45   0/1   0/2 2 1 3 1   1     1 1  
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 82 21/37 9/22 13/20 9 23 32 19 4 14 3 4 22 22 86
        56.8% 40.9% 65%
Head coach: KARASEV, VASILY

Head Coaches

CANAK, NENAD
Partizan NIS Belgrade
"It was a very tough game for us, and in the end, a very important win for our young team. In the first half we played very soft, and Zenit is a team with many experienced players and they know how to play if you don’t play aggressive. In the second half we managed to control their transition game, their offensive rebounds, we played much more aggressive in pick-and-roll defense, and in the end we made some big important shots. I think we deserved this win."
KARASEV, VASILY
Zenit St Petersburg
"First of all, we have a very difficult situation with our perimeter players. We are missing Sergey Karasev, Sean Armand and Brandon Jennings, and have just two players who can create something on the court. We tried to play our game, quick game, with a lot of fast breaks and aggressive game. We fought for 35 minutes, but we made crazy mistakes. For Mekel this was his first practice and first game, but he showed a very good game today. But it wasn’t enough to beat Partizan on the road. We knew how the atmosphere will be here and it is part of the reason for our mistakes. Our goal for the season is to qualify for the EuroLeague."

Players

PAIGE, MARCUS
Partizan NIS Belgrade
"It was obviously a hard-fought game. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to in the beginning. But our energy and our defense really got us going in the second half, and that’s how we got the win."
ZAGORAC, RADE
Partizan NIS Belgrade
"That was a great game for us. We played a little slow in the first half, but after that we continued playing defense and ran in transition on offense. We came back to the game, continued to play our game and luckily won it. We allowed 46 points in the first half, and then only 16 in the third quarter. Defense was the key, it is a simple answer."
UTHOFF , JARROD
Zenit St Petersburg
"They made plays and we did not. They brought the energy and the crowd was on their side. It is very tough to play versus such reckless abandon and they made more plays than we did. I have a great feeling about my game. I try to do what I can and help the team to get wins. I hope we all continue to get better and get some wins. "
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