3x3: «three» from Labeyrie brings UNICS the third victory of the season over Zenit!

Main team news

21.03.2024

UNICS took sole first place in the VTB United League table, snatching victory from Zenit with Louis LABEYRIE's decisive «three» in a super productive battle – 91:90!

The most productive player of the match was Neno DIMITRIJEVIC, who shipped 32 points to the opponents' basket and added 9 assists with 5 rebounds. Jalen REYNOLDS scored a solid double-double of 24 points with 10 rebounds. 16 points and the decisive «three» on Louis LABEYRIE's account. Erick GREEN brought the team 11 points and 4 rebounds.

UNICS (Kazan) – Zenit (Saint Petersburg) – 91:90 (21:23, 27:28, 23:22, 20:17).
UNICS: Dimitrijevic (32 + 9 assists + 5 rebounds), Reynolds (23 + 10 rebounds), Labeyrie (16 + 2 rebounds + 2 steals), Green (11 + 4 rebounds + 2 assists).
Zenit: Huertel (22 + 10 assists), Hunter (16 + 4 rebounds), Dubljevic (15 + 5 rebounds), Frazier (9 + 2 assists), Karasev (9 + 3 rebounds).

Our team will play its next regular season match on Tuesday, March 26, in Krasnodar against Lokomotiv Kuban.

POST-MATCH COMMENTS:

Velimir PERASOVIC, BC UNICS head coach:

«We played a typical playoff series match against a team that is in the best shape. Until today, Zenit has not lost a single match at the top-6 stage. The guests arrived in Kazan with the optimal roster, but we did not count important players due to injuries. Three consecutive fouls in 2 minutes by one of the leaders of UNICS, Marcos Knight, created difficulties for us. The decisive moment was in the end, when Zenit led +2 and missed free throws. Fortune turned out to be on our side. It happens that in such matches we don't score open shots, but then we pick up the rebound and hit a more difficult ball.

This is a very important victory for us. Obviously, our rotation is limited now, we need to think about the recovery of injured players. The playoffs will start soon, it will be extremely difficult to play with a short roster».

Vyacheslav ZAITSEV, BC UNICS guard:

«Today, UNICS did not start very well, Zenit seized the advantage and led 12:2. But after the timeout, we got together, returned to the game and tied the score. We conceded 51 points in the first half, which is too much for us. After a half time, we played better defense. The result of the match was decided in the last seconds. I think it is very interesting for the fans to watch such games, which take place in a tense struggle».

Xavier PASCUAL, BC Zenit head coach:

«Any of the teams could have won today. In the end, we missed both free throws. When picking up in the attack, after using the Instant replay system, possession passed to UNICS. We had an opportunity to score in the final attack, but we missed our shot. I have nothing more to add».

Bojan DUBLJEVIC, BC Zenit forward:

«I don't have much to say. I think we played a good game. There was a lot of fighting on the court today. We need to keep this mentality and move on. There are still a lot of matches ahead».