JERUSALEM, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv lost at home 78-72 to Russian side Zenit St Petersburg in the 17th round of basketball's Euroleague on Tuesday evening.
The Russian visitors gained their 10th win of the campaign from 15 games, while Maccabi remained with seven wins from 17 games.
The game, played behind closed doors at the Menorah Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, started strongly by the home team, with a 16-9 lead in the 7th minute.
However, points by Kevin Pangos helped the Zenit reduce the gap, entering the second quarter trailing at 18-22.
Mateusz Ponitka led Zenit to its first lead in the game, 35-33 in the 18th minute, and 37-35 at halftime.
A 7-0 run at the start of the third quarter opened a gap of nine points for the visitors, who increased to 62-46 in the 29th minute with important points from Alex Poythress.
Maccabi cut the deficit to 52-62 by the end of the third quarter and came as close as 72-75 with 1:05 minutes to go, but three crucial misses by Scottie Wilbekin ensured the victory for Zenit.
Poythress scored a team-high 16 points. Ponitka logged 14 points and seven rebounds.
Wilbekin led Maccabi scorers with 18 points, with Tyler Dorsey adding 13.
Maccabi will play their next game in Germany against Alba Berlin, while Zenit will face Panathinaikos in Greece - with both games will be played on January 7. Enditem
