Zenit players won the Final of the Russian U17 Championship.
The roster of Saint Petersburg-1 includes players from the blue-whites Basketball Academy team Zenit 2009, as well as guards Nikolay Sevostyanov and Anton Suikonen from Zenit U19. The coaching staff was led by Zenit 2009 head coach Vladislav Shumkov and Zenit U21 head coach Roman Knyazev.
The final stage of the championship began for the blue-whites on March 2 with the group stage. The Saint Petersburg team confidently secured first place in group "B", winning all three matches against Nizhny Novgorod Region-1 (70:56), Moscow Region-3 (90:52), Irkutsk Region (85:70).
In the Round of 16, Zenit players faced Samara Region-1. The Volga team put up a fight in the first half, but after halftime, the Saint Petersburg squad took control and claimed a convincing 67:47 victory. The match leaders were Nikolay Sevostyanov (17 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals) and Anton Suikonen (17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block).
The quarterfinal against the Belgorod Region team followed a completely different script. The Saint Petersburg team dominated from the start, securing a "+15" lead after the first quarter and finishing with a commanding 98:72 victory. Once again, Suikonen (19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) and Sevostyanov (18 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) shined.
In the semifinal on March 9, Saint Petersburg-1 faced Moscow-1. The capital’s team started strong, winning the first quarter by "+8", but our squad fought back, cutting the deficit to three points by halftime. The second half was a tense battle, with the outcome decided in the final seconds. Victory — 90:87. The game’s standout players were Sevostyanov (29 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals) and Suikonen (29 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block).
In the final, the Saint Petersburg team faced the tournament hosts — Krasnodar Krai. The Kuban squad controlled the game early on, leading by 9 points at halftime. However, after the break, Zenit players shifted into high gear. The team’s leaders, Anton Suikonen (35 points) and Nikolay Sevostyanov (28 points), took charge, leading an impressive comeback. Final score: 86:79 — and a long-awaited championship! The last time a Saint Petersburg team won the Russian U17 Championship was in 2022.
As a result of the tournament, Nikolay Sevostyanov was named to the championship’s symbolic five, while Anton Suikonen was recognized as the MVP of the Russian U17 Championship Final Round.
Congratulations to Saint Petersburg basketball on this outstanding triumph and an important victory in every player's career!
