In a nail-biter, Olimpia edged Zenit St. Petersburg 73-72, conquering the seventh win of its EuroLeague season and getting at the mid-season point one step ahead of the playoffs’ threshold. The game featured lead changes right from the beginning, with Zenit using its defensive aggressiveness and Olimpia its capability to attack the rim and making the right plays down the stretch. A huge steal by Vlado Micov late in the game opened up a four-point lead for Olimpia. Andrew Albicy responded with a big three cutting the margin to one. Olimpia closed the game pounding the ball inside to Arturas Gudaitis who seemed unstoppable one on one and forced many fouls that converted from the line (8-for-8). With a spin move, Gudaitis scored a crucial basket and the forced Gustavo Ayon to miss his hook. While Olimpia didn’t finish the job offensively, it forced Austin Hollins to go to the line down by three. He made the first and intentionally missed the second. Kaleb Tarczewski completed another great game, grabbing the rebound, absorbing the foul and making his free throws for a decisive four-point gap. Vladislav Trushkin then closed the game with an irrelevant three at the buzzer. “It wasn’t an easy game, we were coming off a bad performance in Bologna that transmitted nervousness reflected by our shooting. I’d like to play a little bit easier, like we did early in the season, but getting the win is important. Kiefer Sykes was a little tentative in his debut, I want him to be the aggressor, to be himself. We need to try to get wins on the road too, lately we were very close on several trips, it’s time to get them,” Coach Ettore Messina said after the game.