Zenit U21 loses in Perm

The youth team of the blue-whites completed their away series of matches against PARMA-M, which took place on January 19 and 20.

The first game began with an advantage for the home team, but by halftime, Zenit U21 had a lead of "+8". Unfortunately, they couldn't carry that momentum into the second half. The final score of the match was 85:78. The most productive player for St. Petersburg in this game was guard German Munchinskiy, who scored 17 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 assist.

In the next game, Zenit U21 led from the start, but gradually lost the initiative and ultimately lost in the final moments — 67:61. The top performers for blue-whites in this game were forward Timofey Komissarov (11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block) and guard Dmitry Chikishev (10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals).

Roman Knyazev, head coach of Zenit U21:

These were very tough games for us. I thank the players and coaching staff for their effort. We couldn’t handle the opponent’s leaders, although we controlled the game for most of the match with our defense. Unfortunately, the quality of the players decided the outcomes in the closing moments. We’ll focus on the next games and work to correct our mistakes.

Dmitry Chikishev, guard of Zenit U21:

We started the game quite well. In the first half, we created many good shooting opportunities and played solid defense. But in the second half, our offense stalled, we stopped moving the ball, and as a result, the opponents took control of the game.

In the next round of the VTB United Youth League regular season, Zenit U21 will conclude their January away series with games against Uralmash-2. The matches will take place on January 23 and 24. Both games will start at 17:00 St. Petersburg time. The broadcasts of each meeting can be found on the League’s website in the Zenit U21 schedule.