"We fought, we battled": Popovic and Aksenov on the end of the season

Zenit-2 guard Daniil Aksenov commented on the end of the 2024/25 season. The blue-whites lost to Khimki from the Moscow region in the bronze medal series of the Fonbet Super League and ultimately finished in fourth place.

— First of all, I want to say a big thank you to all the fans who came to the match. It was a pleasure to play in front of such stands. Not just today, but throughout the entire season, when the stands were filled. A huge thank you to them.

In general, I want to thank the team. For many of us, this was our first season at the men's level. Finishing in fourth place at the end of the regular season, and at times even reaching first place — I believe, overall, as a system, this is a big step forward. And you can see that all the guys are motivated and progressing. And not just by the end of the season, but consistently — from game to game. Yes, there were slumps, but if you look at the big picture, everyone has reached a new level.

Yes, the series ended 0-3 for us. Of course, we wanted things to go differently, we all wanted to extend the series, to keep playing. But it is what it is. Everything is fair, everything is deserved. I don’t think anyone feels bitterness or sadness. It is what it is. We fought, we battled. And this last match is proof of that. At some point, we were even leading. We could have caught up. But maybe youth clashed with inner doubt, insecurity, or a lack of toughness, because you're playing against men who have been in this league for many years. Throughout the match, I kept telling the guys to play tougher, with more aggression and energy. But maybe we were just a little short. For me, too, it was a huge experience playing with these guys in this system — an absolute pleasure. And for them, both individually and collectively, I think this season can go down as a success.

Zenit-2 head coach Oliver Popovic also summarized the series against Khimki and the season overall.

— Yes, unfortunately, just like in the regular season, we finished in fourth place after the playoffs. Most people think this was a successful season. I would say yes, probably successful. But it feels like we could have done just a bit better. Something was missing. Both the quarterfinal and semifinal series went to five games. And in both, we lacked something.

Against Khimki, the situation was completely different. These are different rosters. We lost 0-3. I don’t know how Temp-SUMZ and CSKA-2 will finish, but it seems that those who were first, second, third, and fourth in the regular season stayed in those same positions by the end. Again, most are probably quite happy with the result. I believe it could have been slightly better, but I can’t say the season was bad.