Zenit-2 defeats Novosibirsk in a tense final quarter
The reserve team kicked off their double away game series with a victory against Novosibirsk. The match took place at the "Sever" sports complex as part of the 17th round of the Fonbet Super League regular season. Here's a detailed account of the winning game.
Team captain Elkhan Akhmedov, Pavel Zemskiy, Vladislav Samukhin, Daniil Aksenov and Ilyas Abdul took the court for the blue-whites squad from the opening seconds.
The first tip went to the visitors, and Aksenov immediately attempted a three-pointer, missing the mark. However, Zemskiy was quick to grab the rebound and sink the ball into the basket, scoring the first points of the game. The hosts instantly responded with a hook shot from Semyonyuk. The game quickly picked up pace with plenty of opportunities on both sides, though the St. Petersburg team struggled with their shooting accuracy. After one of Zenit-2's misses, Zemskiy once again dominated the rebound, but the blue-whites team’s offense stalled for a while. Taking advantage, Semyonyuk, White and Makeev helped Novosibirsk seize the initiative, building a 7-point lead. This significant gap and the on-court dynamics prompted Zenit-2 head coach Oliver Popovic to call the first timeout of the game. After making adjustments, Zenit-2 responded with a three-pointer from Aksenov and two points under the rim from Krivyh. The first quarter ended in a scrappy rhythm with numerous mutual errors and turned out to be the lowest-scoring segment of the game — 15:11.
The second quarter followed a similar pattern. The first points of the quarter came only in the third minute when Novosibirsk forward Daniil Kochergin executed a drive following a pass from Aleksey Babushkin. A brief three-point shootout ensued: Akhmedov sank a three-pointer, Balashov answered in kind, Aksenov fired from beyond the arc, and Plugarev kept up, adding three points of his own. For a long time, the margin between the teams remained at 5–7 points. However, closer to the end of the quarter, Zenit-2 managed to slightly narrow the gap and even outscore their opponents in the period — 32:29.
After halftime, Zenit-2 steadily closed in on their opponents, reducing the deficit with each passing minute. Aksenov hit a mid-range shot, Prokopenko completed a three-point play, and if Samukhin had converted his free throw after a foul, the blue-whites team could have taken the lead by the fourth minute of the period. The tension escalated as both teams showcased a tight, evenly matched game. Heading into the final quarter, the hosts were ahead 51:47.
However, the final quarter belonged to the St. Petersburg team. Aksenov’s three consecutive three-pointers early in the fourth quarter became the turning point of the game. Zenit-2 seized control and built a comfortable lead that at one point reached double digits. Novosibirsk had neither the energy nor the time to fight back. The final score was 66:73. With this result, the team maintained their hold on 1st-2nd place in the Fonbet Super League standings.
The standout players for the blue-whites team were Daniil Aksenov (27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Elkhan Akhmedov (14 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound) and Pavel Zemskiy (13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals).
Zenit-2’s next game will also be an away match on Saturday, January 18. They will face Barnaul at the "Pobeda" sports complex, with the match starting at 14:00 St. Petersburg time. The meeting will be streamed live on the website of the Russian Basketball Federation.
