Kevin Pangos (right) drives for Zenit against Panathinaikos. Photo: EuroLeague
Zenit St Petersburg will be the final team to make the EuroLeague Playoffs this season after cruising past Panathinaikos 112-83 in their do-or-die encounter on Monday. The Russian side, in the first-ever playoffs, will now face top seed Barcelona in the best-of-five quarterfinal series which kickstarts on April 20.
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Zenit guard Kevin Pangos led the scoring with 33 points and 11 assists, as Will Thomas added 18, with four rebounds and two assists. Pangos will be looking forward to the side’s next fixture after having been a Barca player for the last two seasons before joining the Russian club.
Nemanja Nedovic put up 20 points for Panathinakos, with Ioannis Papapetrou adding another sixteen. However, this was not enough to stop Zenit who led all the way before going on a 13-4 run in the fourth quarter to culminate their dominant performance on the night.
The game against Panathinaikos, previously rescheduled, was a must-win encounter for Zenit, who were level with Valencia, who now miss out on the playoffs.
Barcelna and Zenit have met four times in the EuroLeague before and will see familiar faces, both in Pangos as well as Zenit coach Xavi Pascual, who led Barca to the 2010 title.
