Zenit-2 secures confident victory in Grozny

The reserve team of Zenit won against Grozny's Dynamo in the last game of 2024. The match was part of the 15th round of the Fonbet Super League regular season.

Pavel Zemskiy, Vladislav Samukhin, Daniil Aksenov, Mikhail Dulkay and Ivan Prokopenko started the game from first tip-off.

At the beginning of the game, the St. Petersburg team quickly managed to get a 7-point lead, but this advantage vanished just as quickly as it appeared. The hosts committed many fouls on defense, giving Zenit-2 repeated opportunities to take free throws. Out of the 20 points scored in the first quarter, 9 came from the free-throw line. The opening ten minutes were uneven and fragmented, ending with a tied score of 20:20.

The intense battle continued in the second quarter. After the midpoint, Dynamo briefly took the lead with a 6-point advantage, but it was quickly neutralized. While Samukhin dominated in the paint, Evstafiev and Aksenov were hitting shots from beyond the arc. It was Aksenov's buzzer-beater from distance that allowed Zenit-2 to finish the first half ahead by 5 points — 38:43.

The outcome of the game was decided in the third quarter. Zenit-2 didn't allow their opponent to come closer in the score and confidently extended their lead. This was often due to second-chance points and the shooting skills of Aksenov and Evstafiev on long-range shots. After one of these three-pointers, guest's lead grew to 15 points. Before the final quarter, the score was 57:69.

The last segment was dominated by the Chechen team. The fourth quarter was the least productive (18:16) and lacked game-changing moments. The final score of the match was 75:85.

The best players for Zenit-2 were Pavel Zemskiy (16 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block), Daniil Aksenov (16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists), Vladislav Samukhin (12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block) and Egor Evstafiev (14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal).

Zenit-2 will play their next match after the break on January 11 at the Basketball Academy in St. Petersburg. The opponent will again be Grozny's Dynamo. The match will begin at 18:00. Admission for fans is free. The game will be streamed on the Russian Basketball League website.