Zenit 99, Parma 85: A Game Decided in the Fourth Quarter

Halftime scoreboards don’t flatter anyone. This one read Betcity Parma 44, Zenit 43, and it changed the kind of game I was shooting.

I had settled in on the baseline expecting a routine VTB United League night. Zenit took the first quarter 23–19, the rhythm looked familiar, and I was collecting the usual set: drives to the rim, a coach pointing at something, a bench that wasn’t worried yet. Then Parma won the second quarter 25–20 and walked off a point ahead.

A lot of that was Jeremiah Martin. The American guard finished with 21 points and five assists, and he is the kind of player who makes match photography harder in the best way. His first step is quick, his changes of direction are sudden, and my autofocus was hanging on for dear life. A close game does a photographer one more favour: nobody coasts, and it shows in every face.

The second half belonged to Zenit. They took the third quarter 25–19 and the fourth 31–22, and the gap finally opened. Georgy Zhbanov led them with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Forwards earn a line like that in traffic under the basket, so that is where I kept the lens.

It ended 99–85, one point short of a hundred. Fourteen points looks like an easy evening on paper. From the floor it was three quarters of doubt and one of relief, which is about the best script a sports photographer in Saint Petersburg can ask for.

See the full gallery with the best moments from Zenit vs Betcity Parma here.