Zenit U21 will host UNICS-2 on home court

Zenit's youth team will return to their home court after a month of away games. In the next round of the VTB Youth League regular season, Roman Knyazev's squad will face UNICS-2.

The team from Kazan currently sits in 9th place in the standings, with 12 wins and 22 losses. Unlike Zenit U21, UNICS-2 played its last two rounds at home: they secured two victories over Saratov’s Avtodor-2 (84:65 and 83:67) and split wins with Samara-2 (92:87 and 82:83).

UNICS-2’s main weapon is their three-point shooting. They lead the league in three-point percentage (32%). However, they struggle under the rim, ranking last in rebounds per game (37 on average), just 1.6 fewer than Zenit U21, which also faces challenges in this area.

Kazan's key player is guard Roman Ilyuk (17.8 points, 6.7 assists, 2.2 steals), though he is frequently called up to the main team. Among UNICS-2’s consistent leaders are guard Magomednabi Khalilulaev (15.3 points, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals) and forward Nikita Lednev (13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds), both of whom have played all 34 games this season.

Head-to-head history in the Youth League favors the blue-whites: 33 wins for Zenit U21 versus 13 for UNICS-2.

Zenit U21 head coach Roman Knyazev on the upcoming games against UNICS-2:

After a tough road trip, we need to bounce back and find our rhythm on both ends of the court. We also have to reintegrate players returning from injuries. We aim for an aggressive, fast-paced game and look forward to the support of our fans.

The games will take place on February 4 and 5 at the Basketball Academy (Severnaya Road, 12). Both matches will start at 14:00 St. Petersburg time. Entry is free for all fans, and the games will be streamed on the VTB Youth League website.